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XnviewApplication

CVE-2017-14278

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-09-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
XnView Classic for Windows Version 2.40 allows attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted .jb2 file, related to a "Read Access Violation starting at jbig2dec+0x0000000000005940."

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

XnView Classic Version 2.40 contains a memory corruption vulnerability when parsing crafted .jb2 (JBIG2 bitmap image) files. The vulnerability triggers a read access violation in the jbig2dec library component, causing the application to crash (denial of service). Exploitation requires a user to open a malicious JBIG2 file, with CVSS indicating local attack vector, low complexity, and no privileges required.

MitigationUsers should avoid opening untrusted .jb2 files in XnView Classic until a patched version is released, or consider using alternative image viewers that have more active security maintenance.

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:= 2.40

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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 checks

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

  1. Verify XnView Classic version
    Open XnView Classic and go to Help > About, or right-click the executable and check Properties > Details to see the version number
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 2.40 (the only affected version for this CVE)
  2. Confirm JBIG2 file handling capability
    Check if .jb2 files are associated with XnView or if you can manually open a .jb2 file through File > Open
    Affected if XnView can open or has ever opened .jb2 files, enabling the vulnerable code path
  3. Locate jbig2dec library component
    Search for jbig2dec.dll or similar JBIG2-related DLL files in the XnView installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\XnView\)
    Affected if The jbig2dec library component is present, as the vulnerability exists in this component when processing JBIG2 files

You are affected if you have XnView Classic version 2.40 installed AND the application is used to open or has the capability to process .jb2 files, as this triggers the vulnerable jbig2dec code path.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Users should avoid opening untrusted .jb2 files in XnView Classic until a patched version is released, or consider using alternative image viewers that have more active security maintenance.

Fix this in Xnview Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,290
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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-2017-14278 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data