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IrfanviewApplication

CVE-2020-23558

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-09-16
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

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
IrfanView 4.54 allows a user-mode write access violation starting at FORMATS!ShowPlugInSaveOptions_W+0x0000000000007f4b.

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

IrfanView 4.54 contains a user-mode write access violation in the FORMATS plugin's ShowPlugInSaveOptions function. This is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability triggered when processing specially crafted image files during save operations, potentially allowing memory corruption and arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpdate to a patched version of IrfanView when released by the vendor. Until then, exercise caution when opening image files from untrusted sources.

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
IrfanviewApplication
Affected:= 4.54

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 checks

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

  1. Check IrfanView installation and version
    Locate IrfanView installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\IrfanView or C:\Program Files (x86)\IrfanView). Look for irfanview.exe, right-click and select Properties, then check the Details tab for the File Version. Alternatively, open IrfanView and go to Help > About to see the version number.
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 4.54 (version 4.5.4 or 4.54) - only this specific version is listed as affected.
  2. Verify the FORMATS plugin exists
    Navigate to the IrfanView installation directory and locate the 'Plugins' or 'plugins' subfolder. Look for a file named formats.dll, formats.exe, or similar FORMATS plugin file. The vulnerability is in the FORMATS plugin's ShowPlugInSaveOptions function.
    Affected if The FORMATS plugin file exists in the plugins directory - this plugin must be present for the vulnerability to be exploitable.
  3. Confirm save functionality is accessible
    Open IrfanView and attempt to access the save functionality that uses the FORMATS plugin. This typically involves opening an image file and using File > Save or File > Save As, especially when saving to formats handled by the FORMATS plugin.
    Affected if The user can perform save operations through the FORMATS plugin - the vulnerability is triggered during save operations with specially crafted image files.

You are affected if you have IrfanView version 4.54 installed with the FORMATS plugin present and use the save functionality on image files.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update to a patched version of IrfanView when released by the vendor. Until then, exercise caution when opening image files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

IrfanView 4.57 or later (latest stable release)

  1. 1. Navigate to the official IrfanView website at www.irfanview.com
  2. 2. Locate and download the latest version of IrfanView (version 4.57 or later as of late 2020/early 2021)
  3. 3. Ensure you download the 64-bit or 32-bit version matching your system architecture
  4. 4. Close any running instances of IrfanView
  5. 5. Run the installer to upgrade from version 4.54 to the latest version
  6. 6. After installation, verify the version by opening IrfanView and checking Help > About
Caveat Minor - standard upgrade; ensure any plugins are also updated to compatible versions

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Irfanview Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
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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-2020-23558 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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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