CVERadar
HIGH · CVSS 3.1 7.5Exploit-DBEPSS 1.93% (p80)Threat level 45

CVE-2026-46522: CVE-2026-46522: ImageMagick is free and open-source software used for editing and manipulating digital ima…

imagemagick · imagemagick · NVD published 2026-06-11 · posted 2026-05-29 · last modified 2026-07-23

What it is

ImageMagick is free and open-source software used for editing and manipulating digital images. Prior to versions 7.1.2.23 and 6.9.13-48, due to a missing check in the MIFF decoder, a crafted file could cause an infinite loop resulting in CPU exhaustion. Versions 7.1.2.23 and 6.9.13-48 fix the issue.

WeaknessCWE-400CWE-835
CVSS vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H (source: [email protected])
ATT&CK tacticsImpact

Exploitation evidence

First exploit evidence seen: 2026-05-29 (earliest date across the sources below).

Exploited in the wild

No source on this site lists in-the-wild exploitation yet (CISA KEV, VulnCheck KEV).

Public exploit code

Exploit-DB

  • EDB-52595: ImageMagick - Infinite Loop in the MIFF decoder can lead to CPU exhaustion (2026-05-29)

Sources: Exploit-DB (OffSec).

Defend the Chain

The attack chain for CVE-2026-46522 laid across the MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise tactics. Solid cards come from the MITRE CTID KEV mappings; dashed cards are inferred by CVERadar from the CWE or description. Correct defences are real ATT&CK mitigations for that technique.

Threat level 45/100
Defender level 1 · 0 XP
Chain links broken: 0/1

Reconnaissance

Resource Development

Initial Access

Execution

Persistence

Privilege Escalation

Stealth

Defense Impairment

Credential Access

Discovery

Lateral Movement

Collection

Command and Control

Exfiltration

Impact

Pick a red technique card on the board, then choose the defence that stops it.

Defend against T1499 Endpoint Denial of Service Inferred

Inferred from CWE CWE-400

How to fix it

Fixed versions

  • imagemagick imagemagick: upgrade to 6.9.13-48 or later
  • imagemagick imagemagick: upgrade to 7.1.2-23 or later (affected from 7.0.0-0)

Derived from the NVD CPE configuration (versionEndExcluding / versionEndIncluding). Always confirm with the vendor advisory.

Vendor advisories and patches

MITRE ATT&CK mitigations for this chain

  • M1037 Filter Network Traffic (for T1499) : Leverage services provided by Content Delivery Networks (CDN) or providers specializing in DoS mitigations to filter traffic upstream from services. Filter boundary traffic by blocking source addresses sourcing the attack, blocking ports that are being targeted, or blocking protocols being used for transport. To defend

Detection Generic guidance

  • Impact: Monitor service availability, unexpected encryption activity and mass file changes.

Response checklist Generic guidance

  1. Inventory: find every instance of the affected product and version (include internet-facing and forgotten ones).
  2. Patch or mitigate per the vendor advisory; if you cannot patch, remove internet exposure or apply the vendor workaround.
  3. Assume compromise if the system was exposed before patching: hunt for the indicators in the advisory and review logs back to the disclosure date.
  4. Rotate credentials and secrets stored on or used by the affected system if compromise cannot be ruled out.

Sources