CVE-2020-13905
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 4.54 allows a user-mode write access violation starting at FORMATS!GetPlugInInfo+0x0000000000038ed4.
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 4.54 contains a user-mode write access violation vulnerability in the FORMATS component's GetPlugInInfo function. This memory corruption issue allows an attacker to write to arbitrary memory locations, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution with user privileges. The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 8.8 (HIGH), indicating significant exploitation potential.
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= 4.54CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 if IrfanView is installedLook for IrfanView installation directory, typically in 'C:\Program Files\IrfanView' or 'C:\Program Files (x86)\IrfanView'. Check for iView64.exe or iView32.exe files.Affected if IrfanView executable exists on the system
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Verify the installed version is 4.54Right-click on iView64.exe or iView32.exe, select Properties, go to Details tab, and check the Product Version field. Alternatively, run 'iView64.exe /?' or check the application's About dialog.Affected if Product version is exactly 4.54
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Confirm FORMATS plugin is presentNavigate to the IrfanView plugins directory (usually 'C:\Program Files\IrfanView\Plugins' or within the installation folder). Look for formats.dll or similar FORMAT plugin files.Affected if The FORMATS plugin file exists in the plugins folder and would be loaded by IrfanView
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Identify if vulnerable code path can be triggeredThe GetPlugInInfo function in the FORMATS component is triggered when IrfanView loads image formats plugins. This occurs when opening image files that use the FORMAT plugin.Affected if IrfanView is used to open images that utilize the vulnerable FORMAT plugin component
The system is affected if IrfanView version 4.54 is installed and the FORMATS plugin component is present and loaded by the application.
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 dataUpgrade IrfanView to a patched version if available. If no patch exists, consider removing the software or implementing application whitelisting/restriction to limit exposure. Since this is a user-mode vulnerability, minimizing the attack surface by restricting user privileges may reduce impact.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-13905 — 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-2020-13905 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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