CriticalCVE-2016-3715

    ImageMagick Arbitrary File Deletion Vulnerability (CVE-2016-3715)

    Published In CISA KEV since Sources: CVE.org

    What is affected, what to do

    The EPHEMERAL coder in ImageMagick before 6.9.3-10 and 7.x before 7.0.1-1 allows remote attackers to delete arbitrary files via a crafted image.

    The vulnerability is being actively exploited; treat it as a priority. Update ImageMagick to version 6.9.3-10. Immediate actions, mitigation and detection rules are in the runbook below.

    Affected
    • Redhat Enterprise Linux Desktop eq 6.0..6.0
    • Redhat Enterprise Linux Desktop eq 7.0..7.0
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Extended Update Support (EUS) eq 6.7..6.7
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Extended Update Support (EUS) eq 7.2..7.2
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Extended Update Support (EUS) eq 7.3..7.3
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Extended Update Support (EUS) eq 7.4..7.4
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Extended Update Support (EUS) eq 7.5..7.5
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Extended Update Support (EUS) eq 7.6..7.6
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Extended Update Support (EUS) eq 7.7..7.7
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux For IBM Z Systems eq 6.0_s390x..6.0_s390x
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux For IBM Z Systems eq 7.0_s390x..7.0_s390x
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux For IBM Z Systems (Extended Update Support) eq 6.7_s390x..6.7_s390x
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux For IBM Z Systems (Extended Update Support) eq 7.2_s390x..7.2_s390x
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux For IBM Z Systems (Extended Update Support) eq 7.3_s390x..7.3_s390x
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux For IBM Z Systems (Extended Update Support) eq 7.4_s390x..7.4_s390x
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux For IBM Z Systems (Extended Update Support) eq 7.5_s390x..7.5_s390x
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux For IBM Z Systems (Extended Update Support) eq 7.6_s390x..7.6_s390x
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux For IBM Z Systems (Extended Update Support) eq 7.7_s390x..7.7_s390x
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux For Power Big Endian eq 6.0_ppc64..6.0_ppc64
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux For Power Big Endian eq 7.0_ppc64..7.0_ppc64
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux For Power Big Endian Eus eq 6.7_ppc64..6.7_ppc64
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux For Power Big Endian Eus eq 7.2_ppc64..7.2_ppc64
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux For Power Big Endian Eus eq 7.3_ppc64..7.3_ppc64
    • SUSE Linux Enterprise Debuginfo eq 11..11
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux For Power Big Endian Eus eq 7.4_ppc64..7.4_ppc64
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux For Power Big Endian Eus eq 7.5_ppc64..7.5_ppc64
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux For Power Big Endian Eus eq 7.6_ppc64..7.6_ppc64
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux For Power Big Endian Eus eq 7.7_ppc64..7.7_ppc64
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux For Power Little Endian eq 7.0_ppc64le..7.0_ppc64le
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux For Power Little Endian Eus eq 7.2_ppc64le..7.2_ppc64le
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux For Power Little Endian Eus eq 7.3_ppc64le..7.3_ppc64le
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux For Power Little Endian Eus eq 7.4_ppc64le..7.4_ppc64le
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux For Power Little Endian Eus eq 7.5_ppc64le..7.5_ppc64le
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux For Power Little Endian Eus eq 7.6_ppc64le..7.6_ppc64le
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux For Power Little Endian Eus eq 7.7_ppc64le..7.7_ppc64le
    • RedHat Enterprise Linux HPC Node eq 6.0..6.0
    • RedHat Enterprise Linux HPC Node eq 7.0..7.0
    • Redhat Enterprise Linux HPC Node (EUS) eq 7.2..7.2
    • Redhat Enterprise Linux Server eq 6.0..6.0
    • Redhat Enterprise Linux Server eq 7.0..7.0
    • Redhat Enterprise Linux Server Advanced mission critical Update Support (AUS) eq 7.2..7.2
    • Redhat Enterprise Linux Server Advanced mission critical Update Support (AUS) eq 7.3..7.3
    • Redhat Enterprise Linux Server Advanced mission critical Update Support (AUS) eq 7.4..7.4
    • Redhat Enterprise Linux Server Advanced mission critical Update Support (AUS) eq 7.6..7.6
    • Redhat Enterprise Linux Server Advanced mission critical Update Support (AUS) eq 7.7..7.7
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server From Rhui eq 6.0..6.0
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server From Rhui eq 7.0..7.0
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Supplementary (EUS) eq 6.7z..6.7z
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (TUS) eq 7.2..7.2
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (TUS) eq 7.3..7.3
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (TUS) eq 7.6..7.6
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (TUS) eq 7.7..7.7
    • Redhat Enterprise Linux Workstation eq 6.0..6.0
    • Redhat Enterprise Linux Workstation eq 7.0..7.0
    • ImageMagick lt *..6.9.3-10
    • ImageMagick eq 7.0.0-0..7.0.0-0
    • ImageMagick eq 7.0.1-0..7.0.1-0
    • Canonical Ubuntu Linux eq 12.04..12.04
    • Canonical Ubuntu Linux eq 14.04..14.04
    • Canonical Ubuntu Linux eq 15.10..15.10
    • Canonical Ubuntu Linux eq 16.04..16.04
    • Oracle Linux eq 6..6
    • Oracle Linux eq 7..7
    • Oracle Solaris eq 10..10
    • Oracle Solaris eq 11.3..11.3
    • SUSE Manager eq 2.1..2.1
    • SUSE Manager Proxy eq 2.1..2.1
    • Suse Openstack Cloud eq 5..5
    • openSUSE Leap eq 42.1..42.1
    • OpenSUSE eq 13.2..13.2
    • SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop eq 12..12
    • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server eq 11..11
    • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server eq 12..12
    • SUSE Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit (SDK) eq 11..11
    • SUSE Linux Enterprise Software Development Kit (SDK) eq 12..12
    • SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension eq 12..12
    Fixed in
    • ImageMagick 6.9.3-10

    Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

    Metrics

    5.5

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: NVD, CVSS v3

    5.5

    CVSS v3

    Severity Medium on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: CVE.org

    75.3 %

    EPSS score

    High — model estimates ≥ 50% chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 99.51

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    Critical
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    206.72 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    actively exploited
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

    Read in glossary
    5.5 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    5.5
    EPSS score

    The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.

    Read in glossary
    75.3 %
    High — model estimates ≥ 50% chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days.
    EPSS percentile

    The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.

    Read in glossary
    99.51
    Critical — this CVE ranks in the top fifth of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 80%).
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    Actively exploited
    Published
    In CISA KEV since

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary

    Response and mitigation

    Why act now?

    Prioritisation rationale

    This flaw belongs to the "ImageTragick" family and is typically chained with sibling coders (MVG, MSL, URL). A crafted image makes server-side processing delete arbitrary files, which attackers use for sabotage, for removing protections such as .htaccess or lock files, and for covering their tracks. The vector formally requires local processing with user interaction. In practice, a single upload to a web application that calls ImageMagick automatically is enough, which is why exploitation likelihood is very high and the flaw ranks among the most attacked CVEs. CISA does not flag ransomware use. Treat internet-facing upload services as top priority; internal batch conversion of trusted content can be scheduled as medium priority.

    1. Runbook step 1

      Immediate response (0-24 h)

      • Patch: Upgrade ImageMagick to at least 6.9.3-10 (6.x branch) or 7.0.1-1 (7.x branch). On Ubuntu 12.04/14.04/15.10/16.04 and openSUSE Leap 42.1, install the distribution packages through the normal package manager. Look up the exact package version in the respective distro advisory. Inventory orphaned builds separately: container images, statically linked binaries, and libraries bundled with PHP Imagick, RMagick, PythonMagick or Node wrappers.
      • Find exposed systems: Identify every system that processes images from untrusted sources, such as upload forms, CMS platforms, thumbnail and avatar services, and document converters. Check with convert -version or magick -version, and with dpkg -l | grep -i imagemagick or rpm -qa | grep -i imagemagick.
      • Stop-gap if you can't patch yet: Block the dangerous coders in policy.xml (usually /etc/ImageMagick-6/policy.xml or /etc/ImageMagick/policy.xml): <policy domain="coder" rights="none" pattern="EPHEMERAL" />, plus the same for URL, HTTPS, MVG and MSL. Confirm the policy is active with convert -list policy.
      • Contain upload processing: Where the policy change cannot land immediately, temporarily disable server-side image processing for unauthenticated uploads, or move it to an isolated queue.
      • Check integrity: On affected hosts, check for missing config, log and application files, e.g. .htaccess, session files and webroot content. Compare against backups or FIM baselines (AIDE, Tripwire).

    2. Runbook step 2

      Mitigation layers

      • Configuration: Restrict coders to the formats you actually need (e.g. JPEG, PNG, GIF, WEBP). Deny everything with pattern="*" and rights="none", then explicitly allow the required formats.
      • Input validation (application): Validate file type by magic bytes, not by extension or MIME header. Force the format prefix on invocation, e.g. png:upload.tmp instead of upload.tmp. Reject user-controlled filenames that carry a protocol prefix such as ephemeral:.
      • WAF/IPS: Block multipart uploads whose body contains ephemeral:, push graphic-context, viewbox, msl: or url(. A Suricata http.request_body signature with content:"ephemeral:"; nocase; scoped to upload URIs is a good starting point.
      • Endpoint hardening: Run image processing under a dedicated, unprivileged service account with no write access to webroot, config or logs. Add AppArmor or SELinux profiles for convert/magick that confine write and delete operations to a temp working directory.
      • Isolation: Move conversion into short-lived containers or sandboxes with a read-only root filesystem, no network access, and tmpfs as the working directory.

    3. Runbook step 3

      Detection rules

      • Linux auditd: Track deletions by ImageMagick processes, e.g. -a always,exit -F arch=b64 -S unlink,unlinkat -F exe=/usr/bin/convert -k im_delete. Alert when the name path falls outside the temp directory.
      • Web server access logs: Correlate POSTs to upload endpoints with subsequent 500 errors or newly missing resources (404s on files that previously existed). Search WAF or body logs for ephemeral:. SPL example: index=waf "ephemeral:" OR "push graphic-context" | stats count by src_ip, uri.
      • EDR process ancestry: A web server or interpreter process (php-fpm, ruby, python, node) spawns convert/magick, followed by file-delete events in sensitive paths (/etc, webroot, ~/.ssh).
      • Sigma (shape): logsource: product=linux, service=auditd, selection syscall in (unlink, unlinkat) and exe|endswith: ['/convert', '/magick'], filter name|startswith: '/tmp/', level high.
      • File integrity: Correlate FIM alerts (AIDE, Wazuh) for deleted webroot or config files with the timing of image uploads.

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    Actively exploited: treat the vulnerability as a priority in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2. If it is exploited in your environment, check the reporting obligation under Art. 23 (early warning within 24 hours).
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    Since 11.09.2026, manufacturers of affected products with digital elements must report actively exploited vulnerabilities under Art. 14 CRA, with an early warning within 24 hours via ENISA's single reporting platform.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    The EPHEMERAL coder in ImageMagick before 6.9.3-10 and 7.x before 7.0.1-1 allows remote attackers to delete arbitrary files via a crafted image.

    Source: NVD (NIST), cvelistv5, CISA KEV Catalog, CVE.org (MITRE)

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    imagemagickimagemagick
    • 7.0.0-0
    • 7.0.1-0
    • < 6.9.3-10
    • —
    • —
    • 6.9.3-10
    suselinux_enterprise_debuginfo
    • 11
    • —
    susemanager
    • 2.1
    • —
    susemanager_proxy
    • 2.1
    • —
    suseopenstack_cloud
    • 5
    • —

    Vendors and products

    Affected operating systems

    Affected operating systems
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_desktop6.0
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_desktop7.0
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_eus6.7
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_eus7.2
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_eus7.3
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_eus7.4
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_eus7.5
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_eus7.6
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_eus7.7
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems6.0_s390x
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems7.0_s390x
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems_eus6.7_s390x
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems_eus7.2_s390x
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems_eus7.3_s390x
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems_eus7.4_s390x
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems_eus7.5_s390x
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems_eus7.6_s390x
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems_eus7.7_s390x
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_power_big_endian6.0_ppc64
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_power_big_endian7.0_ppc64
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_power_big_endian_eus6.7_ppc64
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_power_big_endian_eus7.2_ppc64
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_power_big_endian_eus7.3_ppc64
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_power_big_endian_eus7.4_ppc64

    Public exploit references

    Publicly reported proof-of-concepts, exploit modules and detection templates for this vulnerability. NEOSEC links to the original sources only and does not provide any exploit code.

    Public exploit references
    CISA KEV CatalogCISA Known Exploited Vulnerability (opens in a new tab)cisa.govactively exploited
    Exploit-DBEDB-ID 39767 (opens in a new tab)exploit-db.comPoC (publicly reported)reported, not verified—

    References & sources

    • git.imagemagick.orgrepos/ImageMagick/blob/a01518e08c840577cabd7d3ff291a9ba735f7276…x_refsource_CONFIRM, Broken link, Patch
    • lists.opensuse.orgopenSUSE-SU-2016:1266Vendor advisory, x_refsource_SUSE, Third-party advisory
    • oracle.comtechnetwork/topics/security/linuxbulletinapr2016-2952096.htmlx_refsource_CONFIRM, Third-party advisory
    • imagemagick.orgdiscourse-server/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=29588x_refsource_CONFIRM, Exploit, Vendor advisory
    • lists.opensuse.orgopenSUSE-SU-2016:1326Vendor advisory, x_refsource_SUSE, Third-party advisory
    • ubuntu.comUSN-2990-1Vendor advisory, x_refsource_UBUNTU, Third-party advisory
    • lists.opensuse.orgopenSUSE-SU-2016:1261Vendor advisory, x_refsource_SUSE, Third-party advisory
    • securityfocus.com20160513 May 2016 - HipChat Server - Critical Security AdvisoryMailing list, x_refsource_BUGTRAQ, Broken link, Third-party advisory, Vulnerability database
    • exploit-db.com39767Exploit, x_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB, Exploit, Third-party advisory, Vulnerability database
    • lists.opensuse.orgSUSE-SU-2016:1260Vendor advisory, x_refsource_SUSE, Third-party advisory
    • oracle.comtechnetwork/topics/security/bulletinjul2016-3090568.htmlx_refsource_CONFIRM, Third-party advisory
    • openwall.com[oss-security] 20160504 Re: ImageMagick Is On Fire -- CVE-2016-3714Mailing list, x_refsource_MLIST, Mailing list, Third-party advisory
    • debian.orgDSA-3746Vendor advisory, x_refsource_DEBIAN, Mailing list, Third-party advisory
    • security.gentoo.orgGLSA-201611-21Vendor advisory, x_refsource_GENTOO, Third-party advisory
    • lists.opensuse.orgSUSE-SU-2016:1275Vendor advisory, x_refsource_SUSE, Third-party advisory
    • slackware.comSSA:2016-132-01Vendor advisory, x_refsource_SLACKWARE, Mailing list, Third-party advisory
    • imagemagick.orgscript/changelog.phpx_refsource_CONFIRM, Release notes
    • debian.orgDSA-3580Vendor advisory, x_refsource_DEBIAN, Mailing list, Third-party advisory
    • rhn.redhat.comRHSA-2016:0726Vendor advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT, Third-party advisory
    • securityfocus.com89852Vulnerability database, x_refsource_BID, Broken link, Third-party advisory, Vulnerability database
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