XnviewApplication

CVE-2013-3938

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2014-03-18
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Integer overflow in xnview.exe in XnView 2.13 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a large NUM_ELEMENTS field in an IFD_ENTRY structure in a JXR file, which triggers a heap-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 confidence

Integer overflow in XnView 2.13's xnview.exe when parsing JXR image files. A large NUM_ELEMENTS field in an IFD_ENTRY structure within the JXR file causes an integer overflow during size calculation, leading to a heap-based buffer overflow that can be exploited for arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUsers should refrain from opening untrusted or unknown JXR files. Organizations should consider deploying network-based controls to block potentially malicious JXR attachments and implement application whitelisting where possible.

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
XnviewApplication
Affected:= 2.13

CVSS 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
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify XnView installation
    Locate xnview.exe on the system using file search or check common installation directories (C:\Program Files\XnView or C:\Program Files (x86)\XnView)
    Affected if xnview.exe is found on the system
  2. Confirm installed version
    Right-click xnview.exe, select Properties, and check the File Version field under the Details tab. Alternatively, run 'xnview.exe -version' from command line if supported
    Affected if File version shows exactly 2.13
  3. Check for JXR file associations
    Look for .jxr file type association with XnView in Windows Registry under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.jxr or by attempting to open a JXR file with XnView
    Affected if JXR files are associated with or can be opened by XnView
  4. Identify vulnerable binary
    Confirm the executable filename is xnview.exe and matches the affected component listed in the CVE
    Affected if The executable is xnview.exe in an affected XnView 2.13 installation

The system is affected if XnView version 2.13 is installed with xnview.exe capable of parsing JXR image files.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Users should refrain from opening untrusted or unknown JXR files. Organizations should consider deploying network-based controls to block potentially malicious JXR attachments and implement application whitelisting where possible.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest stable XnView 2.x release (contact vendor for specific version)

  1. 1. Download the latest version of XnView from the official website (www.xnview.com)
  2. 2. Uninstall the current version (2.13) from your system
  3. 3. Install the newly downloaded latest version
  4. 4. Verify the installation was successful by checking the installed version number
  5. 5. Test that JXR files open correctly in the new version
Caveat Minor - verify compatibility with any custom plugins or settings

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Xnview Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $3,000
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2013-3938 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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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