CVE-2011-3464
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 · uneditedOff-by-one error in the png_formatted_warning function in pngerror.c in libpng 1.5.4 through 1.5.7 might allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via unspecified vectors, which trigger a stack-based buffer overflow.
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 confidenceOff-by-one error in the png_formatted_warning function in pngerror.c in libpng 1.5.4 through 1.5.7 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via application crash through a stack-based buffer overflow. The unspecified vectors can potentially allow arbitrary code execution.
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= 1.5.0= 1.5.1= 1.5.2= 1.5.3= 1.5.4= 1.5.5= 1.5.6= 1.5.7CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
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 installed libpng versionRun 'png-config --version' or check package manager (dpkg -l libpng, rpm -q libpng, brew list libpng)Affected if Version returned is 1.5.0 through 1.5.7
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Locate libpng library fileFind libpng shared object: 'ldconfig -p | grep png' or check /usr/lib/ or /usr/local/lib/ for libpng.so* filesAffected if Library file exists and links to a vulnerable version
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Confirm library version from binaryUse 'strings libpng.so.X | grep "^1\.5\."' or run 'file libpng.so.X' to identify exact versionAffected if Version string shows 1.5.4, 1.5.5, 1.5.6, or 1.5.7 (or 1.5.0-1.5.3)
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Identify applications using libpngRun 'ldd /path/to/application | grep png' on applications that process image files, or check which applications link against libpngAffected if Applications process PNG files and link against vulnerable libpng version
Your environment is affected if any installed application links to libpng version 1.5.0 through 1.5.7 and processes PNG input, as the png_formatted_warning function in this version range contains the off-by-one buffer overflow.
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 libpng to version 1.5.8 or later to patch the off-by-one vulnerability in png_formatted_warning. In the interim, ensure proper input validation on PNG files processed by affected applications.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-3464 — 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-2011-3464 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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