Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-28687

Memory Safety in Imagemagick ≤ 6.9.13-41

Memory Safety
Published
10 March 2026
Modified
12 March 2026
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 5.3
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
EPSS Score 0.0024 16th percentile
Risk Priority 35 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-28687 is a medium-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Imagemagick Imagemagick. Its CVSS base score is 5.3 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 16th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to CM-7 (Least Functionality) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

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…

more

file. This vulnerability is fixed in 7.1.2-16 and 6.9.13-41.

CWE(s)
CWE-416

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1204.002 Malicious File Execution
An adversary may rely upon a user opening a malicious file in order to gain execution.
attack.mitre.org →
Why these techniques?

UAF in MSL decoder enables RCE via crafted malicious file processed by ImageMagick in public-facing apps or by users.

Confidence: MEDIUM · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-55510Same product: Imagemagick Imagemagick
CVE-2026-25983Same product: Imagemagick Imagemagick
CVE-2026-56373Same product: Imagemagick Imagemagick
CVE-2026-61861Same product: Imagemagick Imagemagick
CVE-2026-53462Same product: Imagemagick Imagemagick
CVE-2026-28688Same product: Imagemagick Imagemagick
CVE-2026-56376Same product: Imagemagick Imagemagick
CVE-2026-46523Same product: Imagemagick Imagemagick
CVE-2026-26983Same product: Imagemagick Imagemagick
CVE-2025-65955Same product: Imagemagick Imagemagick

Affected Assets

imagemagick
imagemagick
≤ 6.9.13-41 · 7.0.0-0 — 7.1.2-16

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
  • SI-2 Flaw Remediation
  • CM-7 Least Functionality
  • SI-10 Information Input Validation
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 3 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.4.3

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SI-2 Flaw Remediation good match
prevent

Directly requires timely application of vendor patches that remediate the use-after-free flaw in the MSL decoder.

CM-7 Least Functionality good match
prevent

Enforces disabling or restricting the MSL decoder (an unneeded image-processing feature) so crafted MSL files cannot be processed.

SI-10 Information Input Validation partial match
prevent

Requires validation of untrusted image/script inputs before they reach the vulnerable MSL parsing code.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly incorporate memory-safety tooling and reviews that prevent most use-after-free defects.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes can discover use-after-free issues via scanning or analysis but do not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching removes known use-after-free instances after they have been introduced in released software.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
detects

Security testing in development can detect use-after-free bugs before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure SDLC mandates memory-safety practices that reduce use-after-free defects.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify memory-management rules that mitigate use-after-free.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture principles include memory-safety design choices that limit use-after-free exposure.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly prescribe avoidance of use-after-free patterns.

A.8.32 Change management partial match
prevents

Change-management processes help ensure memory-safety fixes are deployed consistently.

References