CVE-2020-21427
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 · uneditedBuffer Overflow vulnerability in function LoadPixelDataRLE8 in PluginBMP.cpp in FreeImage 3.18.0 allows remote attackers to run arbitrary code and cause other impacts via crafted image file.
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 confidenceBuffer overflow in FreeImage 3.18.0's BMP plugin function LoadPixelDataRLE8 during RLE8 compressed image decompression. A specially crafted BMP file with malformed RLE data can cause a heap or stack buffer overflow, allowing remote code execution.
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= 3.18.0CVSS 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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Identify FreeImage library versionLocate the FreeImage library binary (commonly libfreeimage.so on Linux, FreeImage.dll on Windows, or libfreeimage.dylib on macOS) and query its version using file metadata, version info resources, or a tool that can read library version headersAffected if The reported version is exactly 3.18.0
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Verify BMP plugin is loadedConfirm the FreeImage build includes BMP plugin support by checking for the presence of the BMP plugin module or its functionality within the FreeImage libraryAffected if BMP file processing capability is enabled in the FreeImage installation
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Determine if RLE8 compressed BMP processing occursInspect application logs, file processing patterns, or network inputs to identify if the system processes BMP files with RLE8 compression (Run-Length Encoded 8-bit)Affected if RLE8 compressed BMP files are being decompressed using the affected FreeImage 3.18.0 library
You are affected if FreeImage version 3.18.0 is in use AND BMP files with RLE8 compression are being processed, as this triggers the vulnerable LoadPixelDataRLE8 function.
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 · scopedUpdate to patched FreeImage version; implement bounds checking in LoadPixelDataRLE8 to validate RLE run lengths against buffer size before decompression; validate input BMP file structure before processing.
FreeImage latest stable release (3.19.0 or later)
- 1. Identify all applications and systems that depend on FreeImage version 3.18.0
- 2. Check if your Linux distribution has released a security update for FreeImage (e.g., Debian security updates, Fedora updates)
- 3. If using FreeImage directly from source, download the latest stable release from the official SourceForge repository
- 4. Replace the vulnerable FreeImage 3.18.0 library files with the updated version
- 5. Rebuild any applications that link against FreeImage to ensure they use the new library
- 6. Verify the fix by testing image processing functionality, especially with RLE-compressed BMP files
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-21427 — 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-2020-21427 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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