CVE-2020-13878
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 B3D PlugIns before version 4.56 has a B3d.dll!+27ef heap-based out-of-bounds write.
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 confidenceHeap-based out-of-bounds write vulnerability in B3d.dll within IrfanView B3D PlugIns versions prior to 4.56 allows memory corruption during parsing of malicious B3D (3D image) files. The flaw occurs at offset +27ef in the DLL and can potentially enable remote code execution via carefully crafted heap overflows.
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< 4.56CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate B3d.dll in the IrfanView installationNavigate to the IrfanView installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\IrfanView or C:\Program Files (x86)\IrfanView) and search for the file named B3d.dll. If using a 64-bit version, also check the PlugIns64 subfolder.Affected if B3d.dll is found on the system - the vulnerable component is present
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Check the B3d.dll file versionRight-click on B3d.dll, select Properties, then go to the Details tab. Note the File Version value. Alternatively, open a command prompt in the directory and run: dir B3d.dllAffected if The file version shown is lower than 4.56 (e.g., 4.55, 4.54, etc.)
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Verify the B3D plugin is registered with IrfanViewOpen IrfanView, go to menu: Image > Information. Look for supported formats or check if .b3d files can be opened. You can also check the PlugIns folder structure in the IrfanView directory for the B3D-related files.Affected if The B3D plugin is installed and functional - the vulnerable code path can be triggered when opening malicious B3D files
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Confirm the exact plugin version stringIf available, open IrfanView and go to Help > PlugIns Info / Check for PlugIns updates. Look for the B3D PlugIn version entry. Compare against version 4.56 as the fixed release.Affected if The B3D PlugIn version displays as anything below 4.56
The system is affected if B3d.dll is present with a version lower than 4.56 and the B3D plugin is functional, allowing malicious B3D files to trigger the heap overflow at offset +27ef.
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.
dbcve · scoped4.56
Upgrade IrfanView B3D PlugIns to version 4.56 or later. Avoid opening untrusted B3D files until the update is applied, as this is a file-parsing vulnerability with proven exploitability.
B3D PlugIns version 4.56
- Identify the IrfanView installation directory on the affected system
- Locate the existing B3d.dll plugin file in the IrfanView plugins folder
- Download IrfanView B3D PlugIns version 4.56 or later from the official IrfanView website or trusted source
- Replace the vulnerable B3d.dll file with the updated version from the download
- Restart IrfanView if it was running during the update
- Verify the installed B3d.dll version is 4.56 or later to confirm successful remediation
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-13878 — 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-2020-13878 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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