CVE-2011-1338
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedUntrusted search path vulnerability in XnView before 1.98.1 allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse .exe file in a folder selected by the "Open containing folder" menu item.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceXnView before version 1.98.1 contains an untrusted search path vulnerability in its 'Open containing folder' functionality. When a user selects this menu item, the application may execute a Trojan horse .exe file placed by an attacker in the folder being opened, rather than using a secure system path to launch the file explorer. This allows local privilege escalation by executing malicious code with XnView's privileges.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data<= 1.98= 1.74= 1.80= 1.80.1= 1.80.2= 1.80.3= 1.82CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify XnView installation and versionCheck for XnView installation directory (commonly C:\Program Files\XnView or C:\Program Files (x86)\XnView) and locate xnview.exe. Right-click xnview.exe, select Properties, and check the Details tab for File Version. Alternatively, open XnView, go to Help > About and note the version number.Affected if The installed version is 1.98 or lower, or specifically 1.74, 1.80, 1.80.1, 1.80.2, 1.80.3, or 1.82.
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Confirm presence of vulnerable featureIn XnView, right-click on any image file to access the context menu. Look for an option labeled 'Open containing folder' or 'Open folder' that launches Windows Explorer from the application's interface.Affected if The 'Open containing folder' context menu option is present and accessible in the installed version.
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Check for executables in recent view directoriesReview the Windows temporary folders and recent documents locations where XnView users may have opened images. Look for any unexpected or unknown .exe files in these directories: %TEMP%, %USERPROFILE%\Recent, and any custom folders where you frequently view images with XnView.Affected if Any unrecognized .exe files exist in directories that have been accessed via XnView's 'Open containing folder' feature.
You are affected if XnView version 1.98 or lower is installed and the 'Open containing folder' feature has been used to open directories that could contain attacker-placed malicious executables.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpgrade to XnView version 1.98.1 or later. Until patched, avoid using the 'Open containing folder' feature on untrusted folders and verify no executable files exist in directories you intend to open with this function.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-1338 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2011-1338 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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