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FreeimageApplication · Freeimage Project

CVE-2020-21428

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-22
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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 · unedited
Buffer Overflow vulnerability in function LoadRGB in PluginDDS.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 · moderate confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in the LoadRGB function within PluginDDS.cpp of FreeImage 3.18.0 allows remote attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution by supplying a specially crafted DDS image file that triggers the overflow during RGB data loading.

MitigationUpdate FreeImage to a version containing the security patch for this vulnerability; if immediate patching is not feasible, disable or restrict processing of DDS image files in applications using this library.

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
FreeimageApplication
Affected:= 3.18.0

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify FreeImage installation and version
    Search for FreeImage library files (FreeImage.dll on Windows, libfreeimage* on Linux) and check their version metadata. On Windows, right-click the DLL and view Properties > Details > File Version. On Linux, use 'strings libfreeimage.so | grep -i version' or check the package manager: 'dpkg -l | grep freeimage' or 'rpm -qa | grep freeimage'. Also check any application that bundles FreeImage by looking in its bin or lib directories.
    Affected if FreeImage version is exactly 3.18.0 or if the library file PluginDDS.cpp exists in the source and the version cannot be determined but DDS image processing is active
  2. Locate PluginDDS.cpp in the codebase
    If you have access to the source code or binary, search for the file PluginDDS.cpp. On Windows, use 'dir /s /b PluginDDS.cpp' in the project root. On Linux, use 'find . -name "PluginDDS.cpp"'. If using a compiled library, the presence of the DDS plugin can be verified by checking if FreeImage supports DDS format loading.
    Affected if PluginDDS.cpp is present and the LoadRGB function within it handles untrusted DDS input without additional validation
  3. Verify DDS image file processing capability
    Check if applications or services using FreeImage have the DDS format plugin enabled. Test by attempting to load a DDS file using FreeImage's API: call FreeImage_GetFileType() on a .dds file and check if it returns FIF_DDS. Also review application logs for DDS file processing activity.
    Affected if DDS file format support is enabled and applications process DDS files from untrusted sources
  4. Inspect application behavior with DDS files
    Monitor or review how your application handles DDS image files. Check if DDS files are accepted in file upload mechanisms, image processing pipelines, or document viewers that rely on FreeImage. Look for any crash logs or abnormal behavior when DDS files are processed.
    Affected if DDS files are processed by any application linking against the affected FreeImage 3.18.0 library

You are affected if FreeImage version 3.18.0 is in use and your environment processes DDS image files through applications or services that link this library.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update FreeImage to a version containing the security patch for this vulnerability; if immediate patching is not feasible, disable or restrict processing of DDS image files in applications using this library.

Fix this in Freeimage Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,120
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-21428 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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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