Imager versions prior to 1.036 for Perl contain a vulnerability in the TGA image reader where the two-byte color map length is unpacked into a signed short. If the color map length is 32768 or greater, the value becomes negative due to signed conversion. This negative value is then cast to size_t, resulting in a very large allocation request near SIZE_MAX. The allocation fails, triggering Imager's allocator to call exit(3), causing the process to terminate immediately. This exit is uncatchable when reading files via Imager->read(), allowing an attacker to cause a denial of service by supplying a crafted TGA file.

An attacker can cause an immediate and uncatchable process exit (denial of service) by supplying a malicious TGA image file with a color map length of 32768 or more. This disrupts any application using vulnerable Imager versions to read such files. There is no indication of code execution or data corruption beyond process termination.

Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until a fix is available, avoid processing untrusted TGA files with Imager versions before 1.036 to prevent denial of service.