CVE-2017-15261
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 a "Possible Stack Corruption starting at PDF!xmlGetGlobalState+0x0000000000057b35."
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 stack corruption vulnerability exists in IrfanView's PDF plugin (version 4.43) when parsing specially crafted PDF files. The corruption occurs at the xmlGetGlobalState function within the PDF processing module, allowing attackers to trigger a denial of service or potentially achieve unspecified code execution via a maliciously constructed PDF document.
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.
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Confirm IrfanView installationLocate IrfanView executable (irfanview.exe) in Program Files or check registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\IrfanView or HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\IrfanViewAffected if IrfanView is installed on the system
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Check IrfanView versionOpen IrfanView, go to Help > About, or inspect the executable properties. Alternatively, query registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\IrfanView\IrfanView (Value: Version)Affected if Version equals 4.44 exactly
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Locate PDF pluginCheck for PDF plugin file (usually i_pdf.dll or similar) in the IrfanView installation directory under a 'plugins' or 'plugins32' subfolderAffected if PDF plugin file exists in the plugins directory
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Check PDF plugin versionRight-click the PDF plugin DLL file, select Properties > Details to view File Version, or use a tool like exiftool or examine file metadataAffected if Plugin version equals 4.43 exactly
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Verify plugin is loaded by defaultAttempt to open a PDF file in IrfanView, or check if PDF file association exists and IrfanView attempts to load the plugin when a PDF is openedAffected if PDF plugin loads automatically when opening PDF files
System is affected if IrfanView version 4.44 is installed AND PDF plugin version 4.43 is present and automatically loaded for PDF file handling.
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 dataUsers should avoid opening untrusted or unexpected PDF files in IrfanView until the PDF plugin is updated to a patched version. Consider using alternative PDF viewers or sandboxing for untrusted files.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-15261 — 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-2017-15261 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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