GHSA-494m-4556-wf5p - imgproxy has out-of-bounds heap read/write in ICO loader BMP header reconstruction that allows unauthenticated remote worker crash
### Summary
Out-of-bounds heap write in imgproxy's ICO loader (`vips/icoload.c`): when the ICO entry's image data buffer is small, the loader's BMP-header-reconstruction writes land past the allocation, corrupting the size field of the following heap chunk. The worker then aborts deterministically (glibc `munmap_chunk(): invalid pointer` โ SIGABRT โ Go panic, exit code 2).
### Details
In `vips_foreign_load_ico_header` in `vips/icoload.c`, after the ICO entry's image data is read into a heap buffer of `data_size + 14` bytes, the loader reconstructs a BMP file header in front of it using fields read from the ICO's internal BITMAPINFOHEADER:
```
uint32_t num_colors = GUINT32_FROM_LE(*(uint32_t *) (actual_data + 32)); // unvalidated
uint16_t bpp = GUINT16_FROM_LE(*(uint16_t *) (actual_data + 14)); // unvalidated
```
```
if ((num_colors == 0) && (bpp <= 8))
pix_offset = BMP_FILE_HEADER_LEN + BMP_BITMAP_INFO_HEADER_LEN + 4 * (1 << bpp);
else
pix_offset = BMP_FILE_HEADER_LEN + BMP_BITMAP_INFO_HEADER_LEN + 4 * num_colors;
```
```
int32_t height = GINT32_FROM_LE(*(int32_t *) (actual_data + 8)); // readable past the buffer
height = height / 2;
```
With a crafted entry declaring a tiny `data_size` (e.g. 1 byte), all of these reads (offsets +8, +14, +32) go past the allocation, and the reconstructed-header writes land past the end of the buffer โ specifically a 32-bit `height/2`-derived value at `alloc+22..+25`, overwriting the LSBs of the size field of the physically following heap chunk. The corrupted size is always `original_size >> 1` and, in cgo thread arenas, the `NON_MAIN_ARENA` bit lands in the `IS_MMAPPED` position of the corrupted word such that the next `free()` of the victim deterministically takes glibc's `munmap_chunk()` abort path, killing the worker. Depending on heap state, the worker returns 500 for the triggering request and aborts on the corrupted chunk's free; in observed production geometry it dies on the same request (exit code 2).
HIGH
Severity & confidence
Source severityhigh
Platform severityhigh
Confidencemedium
Exploitationunknown
CVSS7.5
Affected
Vendorsgithub
Productsgithub.com/imgproxy/imgproxy/v3
Reporting sources (1)
GitHub Security Advisories
Timeline & provenance
Published2026-10-30T22:56:14
Last updated2026-11-09T09:35:06
Ingested2026-10-30T22:59:14
FreshnessNEAR-REAL-TIME
Threat typeadvisory
Recommended action
Review the advisory and upgrade affected packages to the first patched version.
Next steps
- Identify affected systems in your environment.
- Apply the vendor patch or mitigation guidance.
- Review logs for indicators described in the advisory.
- Follow the affected vendor/product to track updates.
Confidence explanation
Reported by a single or secondary source; treat as indicative, verify before acting.
Source type: vendor ยท Original: GitHub Security Advisories