ImageMagick's policy bypass through path traversal allows reading restricted content despite secured policy

Summary

CVE	CVE-2026-25965
State	PUBLISHED
Assigner	GitHub_M
Source Priority	CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published	2026-02-24 02:16:01 UTC
Updated	2026-06-30 03:17:46 UTC
Description	ImageMagick is free and open-source software used for editing and manipulating digital images. Prior to versions 7.1.2-15 and 6.9.13-40, ImageMagick’s path security policy is enforced on the raw filename string before the filesystem resolves it. As a result, a policy rule such as /etc/* can be bypassed by a path traversal. The OS resolves the traversal and opens the sensitive file, but the policy matcher only sees the unnormalized path and therefore allows the read. This enables local file disclosure (LFI) even when policy-secure.xml is applied. Actions to prevent reading from files have been taken in versions .7.1.2-15 and 6.9.13-40 But it make sure writing is also not possible the following should be added to one's policy. This will also be included in ImageMagick's more secure policies by default.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 7.5 HIGH from [email protected]

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

Problem Types: CWE-22 | CWE-22 CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') | CWE-22 Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

Version	Source	Type	Score	Severity	Vector
3.1	[email protected]	Primary	7.5	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`
3.1	ADP	CVSS	8.6	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N`
3.1	[email protected]	Secondary	8.6	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N`
3.1	0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c	Secondary	8.6	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N`
3.1	CNA	DECLARED	8.6	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N`

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

None

Availability

None

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

NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)

Type	Vendor	Product	Version	Update	Edition	Language
Application	Imagemagick	Imagemagick	All	All	All	All

Vendor Declared Affected Products

Source	Vendor	Product	Version	Platforms
CNA	ImageMagick	ImageMagick	affected >= 7.0.0, < 7.1.2-15	Not specified
CNA	ImageMagick	ImageMagick	affected < 6.9.13-40	Not specified
ADP	Red Hat	Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server V. 7 ELS	Not specified	Not specified
ADP	Red Hat	Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional V. 7 ELS	Not specified	Not specified
ADP	Red Hat	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6	Not specified	Not specified

References

Reference	Source	Link	Tags
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi	0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c	bugzilla.redhat.com
security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-25965.json	0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c	security.access.redhat.com
access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-25965	0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c	access.redhat.com
github.com/ImageMagick/ImageMagick/security/advisories/GHSA-8jvj-p28h-9gm7	[email protected]	github.com	Third Party Advisory
access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:5573	0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c	access.redhat.com
CVE Program record	CVE.ORG	www.cve.org	canonical
NVD vulnerability detail	NVD	nvd.nist.gov	canonical, analysis

No vendor comments have been submitted for this CVE.

Additional Advisory Data

Source	Time	Event
ADP	2026-02-24T02:02:18.697Z	Reported to Red Hat.
ADP	2026-02-24T01:20:44.175Z	Made public.

Solutions

ADP: RHSA-2026:5573: Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7 ELS), Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional (v. 7 ELS)

Workarounds

ADP: Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base, or stability.

There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.