imgproxy has integer overflow in imgproxy ICO loader that causes denial of service and may permit remote code executionGHSA-hff9-5pqw-6w9f
CRITICALFix: imgproxy/imgproxy@a821b6aGHSA-hff9-5pqw-6w9f is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) remote code execution vulnerability in github.com/imgproxy/imgproxy/v3. A fix is available for github.com/imgproxy/imgproxy/v3 — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Real-World Exposure
github.com/imgproxy/imgproxy/v3🐹github.com/imgproxy/imgproxy/v2🐹github.com/imgproxy/imgproxyReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Summary
The ICO loader allocates data_size + BMP_FILE_HEADER_LEN bytes after reading a 32-bit attacker-controlled data_size. For data_size > UINT32_MAX - BMP_FILE_HEADER_LEN, the addition wraps before allocation. imgproxy then writes the ICO prefix and reads up to the original declared size starting 14 bytes into the undersized allocation. A network client can turn this heap overflow into remote denial of service or remote code execution.
Technical details
The vulnerable path is in vips/icoload.c at commit f4fedbb:
uint32_t data_size = GUINT32_FROM_LE(largest_image_header.data_size);
VipsPel *data = (VipsPel *) VIPS_MALLOC(NULL, data_size + BMP_FILE_HEADER_LEN);
void *actual_data = data + BMP_FILE_HEADER_LEN;
if (vips_foreign_load_read_full(ico->source, actual_data, data_size) <= 0) {
vips_error("vips_foreign_load_ico_header", "unable to read ICO image data from the source");
return -1;
}
The crafted directory entry contains:
data_size = 0xfffffff5 (4294967285)
data_offset = 22
BMP header size = 14
32-bit result = (0xfffffff5 + 14) mod 2^32 = 3
The allocation is therefore three bytes. actual_data points 14 bytes after the allocation base. The fixture contains 64 bytes after the ICO header, so the source callback copies those 64 bytes to an invalid destination before it can report that the declared multi-gigabyte payload is incomplete.
The complete source-to-sink path is:
- Attacker-controlled bytes begin with the ICO magic
00 00 01 00. - imgproxy identifies the source as ICO and dispatches it to
vips_icoload_source_go. vips_foreign_load_ico_headerreads the attacker-controlleddata_size.- The 32-bit addition wraps, and
VIPS_MALLOCreceives the value three. vips_foreign_load_read_fullpasses the originaldata_sizeto the Go source callback.- The callback writes the available source bytes through the invalid pointer, corrupting the process heap.
Impact
A crafted image can terminate the imgproxy process handling it or potentially lead to remote code execution due to heap corruption.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/imgproxy/imgproxy/v3 | ≥ 4.0.0&&< 4.0.16 | 4.0.16go get github.com/imgproxy/imgproxy/v3@v4.0.16 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/imgproxy/imgproxy/v2 | ≥ 4.0.0&&< 4.0.16 | 4.0.16go get github.com/imgproxy/imgproxy/v2@v4.0.16 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/imgproxy/imgproxy | ≥ 4.0.0&&< 4.0.16 | 4.0.16go get github.com/imgproxy/imgproxy@v4.0.16 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/imgproxy/imgproxy/v3, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/imgproxy/imgproxy/v3 to 4.0.16 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-hff9-5pqw-6w9f is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Stop feeding it untrusted input: reject or quarantine files and payloads from unverified sources until you can upgrade, restrict accepted formats to the ones you actually need, and run the parsing or decoding step in a least-privileged sandbox or short-lived worker so a crash or corrupted read cannot reach the rest of the process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-hff9-5pqw-6w9f in your dependencies?
Find it across Go, including transitive dependencies.