CVE-2025-67079: Agora Project RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2025-67079 Overview

CVE-2025-67079 is a critical file upload vulnerability affecting Omnispace Agora Project versions prior to 25.10. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by exploiting the MSL (Magick Scripting Language) engine of the Imagick library through specially crafted PDF files uploaded to the file upload and thumbnail generation functions.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can achieve full code execution on vulnerable systems without authentication by uploading malicious PDF files that exploit the Imagick MSL engine during thumbnail processing.

Affected Products

• Omnispace Agora Project versions prior to 25.10
• Systems using Imagick library with MSL engine enabled for PDF processing
• Deployments with file upload and thumbnail generation functionality enabled

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-01-15 - CVE-2025-67079 published to NVD
• 2026-01-21 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-67079

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability falls under CWE-434 (Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type), a well-known category of web application vulnerabilities. The flaw exists in the file upload mechanism of Agora Project, specifically in how uploaded files are processed through the Imagick library's MSL engine during thumbnail generation.

The attack is network-accessible and requires no authentication or user interaction, making it highly exploitable. When a user uploads a specially crafted PDF file, the application's thumbnail generation functionality passes the file to the Imagick library for processing. The MSL engine within Imagick can be abused to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying system.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is insufficient validation and sanitization of uploaded files before they are processed by the Imagick library. Specifically, the application fails to:

1. Properly validate the content of uploaded PDF files beyond basic file extension or MIME type checks
2. Disable or restrict dangerous Imagick coders, particularly the MSL (Magick Scripting Language) coder
3. Implement proper sandboxing or security policies for Imagick processing operations

The MSL coder in ImageMagick/Imagick allows for the execution of arbitrary operations including reading/writing files and executing system commands through specially crafted input files.

Attack Vector

The attack is executed remotely over the network without requiring authentication. An attacker crafts a malicious PDF file that contains embedded MSL directives. When this file is uploaded to the Agora Project application, the thumbnail generation process triggers the Imagick library to parse the file. The MSL engine interprets the malicious directives, leading to arbitrary code execution on the server.

The attack flow typically involves:

1. Creating a PDF file with embedded MSL payload targeting code execution
2. Uploading the malicious PDF through the application's file upload interface
3. Triggering the thumbnail generation process (often automatic)
4. Achieving code execution when Imagick processes the file with MSL enabled

For detailed technical information about this vulnerability, refer to the Helx Blog Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-67079

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual PDF file uploads containing MSL-related strings or ImageMagick directives
• Unexpected process spawning from web server or PHP processes following file uploads
• File system modifications in unexpected directories after thumbnail generation operations
• Anomalous network connections originating from the web application server

Detection Strategies

• Monitor file upload endpoints for PDF files containing suspicious patterns such as msl:, ephemeral:, or ImageMagick policy bypass attempts
• Implement file integrity monitoring on web server directories to detect unauthorized file creation
• Deploy web application firewalls with rules targeting ImageMagick/Imagick exploitation patterns
• Review application logs for errors related to Imagick processing or policy violations

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging for file upload operations and thumbnail generation processes
• Configure alerts for process execution anomalies on web servers handling file uploads
• Monitor for ImageMagick-related error messages that may indicate exploitation attempts
• Implement network monitoring to detect command and control traffic following potential exploitation

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-67079

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade Omnispace Agora Project to version 25.10 or later immediately
• If immediate patching is not possible, disable file upload functionality or thumbnail generation as a temporary measure
• Review ImageMagick/Imagick policy configuration to disable dangerous coders including MSL
• Audit recent file uploads for suspicious PDF files that may indicate prior exploitation attempts

Patch Information

The vendor has addressed this vulnerability in Agora Project version 25.10. Organizations should upgrade to this version or later to remediate the vulnerability. Additional information about the affected software can be found on the Agora Project Homepage.

Workarounds

• Disable the MSL coder in ImageMagick policy.xml configuration file to prevent MSL-based attacks
• Implement strict file type validation that examines file content rather than relying solely on extension or MIME type
• Configure ImageMagick resource limits and security policies to restrict dangerous operations
• Consider using alternative image processing libraries that do not support MSL for thumbnail generation

# ImageMagick policy.xml mitigation example
# Add to /etc/ImageMagick-6/policy.xml or /etc/ImageMagick-7/policy.xml

# Disable MSL coder to prevent MSL-based attacks
<policy domain="coder" rights="none" pattern="MSL" />

# Disable other potentially dangerous coders
<policy domain="coder" rights="none" pattern="URL" />
<policy domain="coder" rights="none" pattern="HTTPS" />
<policy domain="coder" rights="none" pattern="HTTP" />
<policy domain="coder" rights="none" pattern="MVG" />
<policy domain="coder" rights="none" pattern="TEXT" />
<policy domain="coder" rights="none" pattern="EPHEMERAL" />