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ImagemagickApplication

CVE-2026-28687

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.9.13-41 / 7.1.2-16 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
ImageMagick is free and open-source software used for editing and manipulating digital images. Prior to versions 7.1.2-16 and 6.9.13-41, a heap use-after-free vulnerability in ImageMagick's MSL decoder allows an attacker to trigger access to freed memory by crafting an MSL file. This vulnerability is fixed in 7.1.2-16 and 6.9.13-41.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

ImageMagick contains a heap use-after-free vulnerability in its MSL (Magick Scripting Language) decoder. Attackers can exploit this by crafting a malicious MSL file that triggers the program to access previously freed memory, potentially leading to crashes or potentially arbitrary code execution depending on heap state.

MitigationUpgrade ImageMagick to version 7.1.2-16 or later for the 7.x branch, or 6.9.13-41 or later for the 6.x branch. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, disable processing of untrusted MSL files as a compensating control.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
ImagemagickApplication
Affected:< 6.9.13-41>= 7.0.0-0, < 7.1.2-16

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Low

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed ImageMagick version
    Run `convert -version` or `magick -version` to get the installed version number and branch (6.x or 7.x)
    Affected if Version is < 6.9.13-41 for 6.x branch, or >= 7.0.0-0 and < 7.1.2-16 for 7.x branch
  2. Confirm MSL decoder is available
    Check if the MSL coder is present by running `convert -list configure | grep -i msl` or examining the coders directory for an MSL-specific module
    Affected if MSL support is compiled into the binary or available as a loadable module and the application can be invoked to process MSL files
  3. Verify MSL file processing capability
    Attempt to invoke ImageMagick with an MSL file as input: `convert input.msl output.png 2>&1` or check if any application in the environment uses MSL file parsing
    Affected if ImageMagick can be triggered to process MSL files through command line, API calls, or through applications that invoke ImageMagick

You are affected if your installed ImageMagick version falls within the vulnerable ranges AND the MSL decoder can be invoked to process MSL files in your environment.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.9.13-41 / 7.1.2-16 or later
Fixed in 6.9.13-417.1.2-16
Interim mitigation

Upgrade ImageMagick to version 7.1.2-16 or later for the 7.x branch, or 6.9.13-41 or later for the 6.x branch. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, disable processing of untrusted MSL files as a compensating control.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to ImageMagick 6.9.13-41 (for 6.x branch) or 7.1.2-16 (for 7.x branch)

  1. 1. Check your current ImageMagick version by running 'convert --version' or 'magick --version'
  2. 2. If you are on the 6.x branch (version < 7.0.0-0), upgrade to version 6.9.13-41 or later
  3. 3. If you are on the 7.x branch (version >= 7.0.0-0), upgrade to version 7.1.2-16 or later
  4. 4. Use your system's package manager (apt, yum, dnf, brew, etc.) or compile from source to obtain the fixed version
  5. 5. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the new version
Caveat ImageMagick minor version upgrades rarely introduce breaking changes, but test image processing workflows after upgrade to ensure compatibility

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Imagemagick Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-28687 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data