CVE-2016-5684
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 · uneditedAn exploitable out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in the XMP image handling functionality of the FreeImage library. A specially crafted XMP file can cause an arbitrary memory overwrite resulting in code execution. An attacker can provide a malicious image to trigger this vulnerability.
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 · moderate confidenceAn out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in FreeImage's XMP image parsing functionality. Specially crafted XMP data can cause memory corruption leading to arbitrary memory overwrite and potential code execution. The vulnerability stems from insufficient bounds checking during XMP metadata parsing.
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= 3.17.0CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 FreeImage library presenceSearch for FreeImage DLL (FreeImage.dll on Windows) or shared library (libfreeimage.so on Linux) in the application directory, system libraries, or dependency listingsAffected if FreeImage library is found in the environment
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Determine installed FreeImage versionUse tools like 'strings' on the library file, check file properties, or inspect the application's dependency information to find the exact FreeImage version numberAffected if The version is 3.17.0 exactly (this specific version is vulnerable)
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Verify XMP parsing capability is in useExamine application logs, configuration, or code that loads FreeImage to determine if XMP metadata parsing functionality is invoked (check for XMP-related function calls or metadata extraction features)Affected if The application uses FreeImage to parse XMP metadata from images
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Check for XMP-containing image filesScan directories where image files are stored or processed for files that may contain XMP metadata (common in JPEG/TIFF with embedded metadata)Affected if The environment processes XMP-containing images through vulnerable FreeImage code
Environment is affected if FreeImage version 3.17.0 is installed and the application uses it to parse XMP metadata from images.
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 dataUpdate FreeImage to the latest patched version. If patching is not immediately feasible, implement input validation on XMP files before processing or disable XMP support in applications using this library.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,808.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-5684 — 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-2016-5684 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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