CVE-2019-17248
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 4.53 allows a User Mode Write AV starting at WSQ!ReadWSQ+0x00000000000025b6.
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 confidenceIrfanView 4.53 contains a User Mode Write Access Violation vulnerability in the WSQ (Wavelet Scalar Quantization) image codec. The issue occurs in the ReadWSQ function at a specific memory offset, indicating a memory corruption issue that could potentially be exploited for arbitrary code execution with user interaction (opening a specially crafted WSQ image file).
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= 4.53CVSS 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:3.1/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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Check installed IrfanView versionOpen IrfanView and navigate to Help > About, or right-click the IrfanView executable and view Properties > Details to see the version numberAffected if The version is exactly 4.53
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Verify WSQ codec plugin presenceCheck for the presence of WSQ-related files in the IrfanView plugins directory (typically \Plugins\ or \plugins\ subfolder), looking for files named wsq.* or similar WSQ-related DLLsAffected if The WSQ codec/plugin file exists in the IrfanView plugins directory
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Confirm WSQ file type associationAttempt to open a .wsq file in IrfanView or check file associations to see if IrfanView is configured to handle WSQ filesAffected if IrfanView can open or is associated with WSQ image files
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Verify the ReadWSQ function is loadedWith IrfanView running, use a process inspection tool to confirm the WSQ-related module is loaded into memory when a WSQ file is accessedAffected if The WSQ codec module loads into memory during WSQ file processing
A user is affected if they are running IrfanView version 4.53 and have the WSQ codec plugin enabled, as the vulnerability requires both the specific vulnerable version and the WSQ functionality to be present and used.
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 WSQ image files in IrfanView 4.53. Check for available vendor patches or consider upgrading to a newer version if available. For enterprise environments, implement file type restrictions and sandboxing for image processing.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-17248 — 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-2019-17248 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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