Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-40311 is a medium-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Imagemagick Imagemagick. Its CVSS base score is 5.5 (Medium).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Application or System Exploitation (T1499.004); ranked at the 8th 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 SI-2 (Flaw Remediation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-22130
Vulnerability Data
ImageMagick is free and open-source software used for editing and manipulating digital images. Versions below 7.1.2-19 and 6.9.13-44 contain a heap use-after-free vulnerability that can cause a crash when reading and printing values from an invalid XMP profile. This issue…
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has been fixed in versions 6.9.13-44 and 7.1.2-19.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Heap use-after-free in ImageMagick image parser triggers crash on malicious XMP input, directly enabling application exploitation for denial of service.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly requires timely application of the vendor patch that eliminates the use-after-free in XMP profile handling.
Mandates validation of input data (XMP profiles) before processing, blocking the malformed input that triggers the heap use-after-free.
Requires memory-protection mechanisms that can contain or prevent exploitation of use-after-free conditions in image-processing 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.
Enforcing authentication directly implements a core protection mechanism whose absence or misuse is the CWE.
Defining and enforcing access authorizations is a protection mechanism; proper use prevents the CWE.
Cryptographic and integrity controls are protection mechanisms whose correct deployment mitigates the CWE.
Encryption and integrity protections for transit are explicit protection mechanisms.
Logical network protections are protection mechanisms whose failure matches the CWE.
Secure SDLC practices directly incorporate memory-safety tooling and reviews that prevent most use-after-free defects.
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.
Security testing in development can detect use-after-free bugs before release.
Systematic verification that security mechanisms operate according to defined standards reduces the likelihood that protection mechanisms are bypassed or disabled.
Hardening devices, disabling vulnerable protocols, and maintaining accurate network diagrams reduce the likelihood that a protection mechanism is misconfigured or left in a weak state.
Secure SDLC mandates memory-safety practices that reduce use-after-free defects.
Application security requirements can specify memory-management rules that mitigate use-after-free.
Secure architecture principles include memory-safety design choices that limit use-after-free exposure.