CVE-2017-15259
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 · uneditedIrfanView version 4.44 (32bit) with PDF plugin version 4.43 allows attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted .pdf file, related to "Data from Faulting Address controls Branch Selection starting at PDF!xmlParserInputRead+0x000000000011624a."
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 confidenceA vulnerability in IrfanView PDF plugin version 4.43 allows attackers to cause denial of service or potentially achieve code execution via a crafted .pdf file. The vulnerability involves memory corruption at the xmlParserInputRead function where data from a faulting address controls branch selection, indicating a control-flow hijack condition.
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= 4.43= 4.44CVSS 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.
-
Confirm IrfanView is installedCheck for IrfanView installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\IrfanView or C:\Program Files (x86)\IrfanView) and verify the main IrfanView executable (i_view32.exe or i_view64.exe) exists.Affected if IrfanView executable is present on the system
-
Locate the PDF pluginNavigate to the IrfanView plugins subdirectory and look for the PDF plugin file (commonly named Pdf.dll or similar PDF-related DLL).Affected if PDF plugin file exists in the plugins folder
-
Identify the PDF plugin versionRight-click the PDF plugin DLL, select Properties, then view the Details tab to find the File Version. Alternatively, use a tool like PowerShell: (Get-Item 'C:\Program Files\IrfanView\Plugins\Pdf.dll').VersionInfo.FileVersionAffected if PDF plugin version is 4.43 or if version cannot be determined but the plugin is present
-
Verify IrfanView version if knownRight-click the IrfanView executable (i_view32.exe or i_view64.exe), select Properties, and check the File Version in the Details tab.Affected if IrfanView version is 4.44 with the vulnerable PDF plugin present
-
Confirm PDF plugin is enabledOpen IrfanView, go to menu: Options > Properties/Settings > Plug-ins. Verify the PDF plugin is listed as loaded/enabled.Affected if PDF plugin is loaded and active in IrfanView
The system is affected if IrfanView with the PDF plugin (versions 4.43 or 4.44) is installed and the PDF plugin is enabled, allowing crafted PDF files to trigger the memory corruption vulnerability.
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 dataAvoid opening untrusted or unknown PDF files in IrfanView until the PDF plugin is updated to a patched version. Verify current IrfanView and PDF plugin versions across the environment and apply available updates.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-15259 — 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-2017-15259 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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