Vulnerability in Imagemagick

CVE-2026-25796

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, in `ReadSTEGANOImage()` (`coders/stegano.c`), the `watermark` Image object is not freed on three early-return paths, resulting in a definite memory leak (~13.5KB+ per invocation) that can be exploited for denial of service. Versions 7.1.2-15 and 6.9.13-40 contain a patch.

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 5.3 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.005 (38.9th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 39th percentile — 38.9% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2026-25796: held from 0.004 to 0.005.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.004 · newest: 0.005 · change: +0.001

Affected products

  • Imagemagick — versions >= 7.0.0, < 7.1.2-15, < 6.9.13-40

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-25796?
CVE-2026-25796 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Imagemagick, classified under Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime. CVSS score: 5.3/10. Published 2026-02-24.
How severe is CVE-2026-25796?
Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.3 out of 10.