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.
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:
00 00 01 00.vips_icoload_source_go.vips_foreign_load_ico_header reads the attacker-controlled data_size.VIPS_MALLOC receives the value three.vips_foreign_load_read_full passes the original data_size to the Go source callback.A crafted image can terminate the imgproxy process handling it or potentially lead to remote code execution due to heap corruption.
| Software | Affected versions |
|---|---|
github.com/imgproxy/imgproxy/v3
|
>= 4.0.0, < 4.0.16 |
github.com/imgproxy/imgproxy/v2
|
>= 4.0.0, < 4.0.16 |
github.com/imgproxy/imgproxy
|
>= 4.0.0, < 4.0.16 |
A vulnerability database tells you what is broken. Attack surface management tells you where it is running: it discovers your internet-facing assets and flags the ones affected by issues like this one.
What is attack surface management? →A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.
CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.
A vulnerability is the underlying weakness. An exploit is the method or code used to take advantage of it. A zero-day is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor or has no publicly available fix when attackers begin using it. In practice, risk increases sharply when exploitation becomes reliable or widespread.
Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.
Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.
SynScan combines attack surface monitoring and continuous security auditing to keep your inventory current, flag high-impact vulnerabilities early, and help you turn raw findings into a practical remediation plan.