CVE-2021-29361
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 · uneditedA buffer overflow vulnerability in FORMATS!Read_Utah_RLE+0x340 of Irfanview 4.57 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted RLE 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 confidenceA buffer overflow vulnerability in IrfanView 4.57 exists in the Read_Utah_RLE function when parsing Utah RLE image files. Attackers can trigger the vulnerability by tricking users into opening a specially crafted malicious RLE file, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution with the user's privileges.
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= 4.57CVSS 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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Check IrfanView version numberOpen IrfanView, go to Help > About, or right-click the IrfanView executable (i_view32.exe or i_view64.exe) and select Properties > Details to view the File VersionAffected if The version shown is exactly 4.57
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Verify RLE file association or plugin statusIn IrfanView, go to Options > Properties/Settings > Plugins. Look for the RLE-related plugin entry or check if RLE files (.rle) are associated with IrfanView as a handlerAffected if RLE file support is enabled or RLE files are configured to open in IrfanView
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Identify RLE file handling configurationCheck Windows file type associations for .rle extension via Control Panel > Default Programs > Set Associations, or inspect IrfanView's configuration file (i_view32.ini or i_view64.ini) for RLE-related entriesAffected if The .rle file extension is associated with or handled by IrfanView
You are affected if IrfanView version 4.57 is installed AND RLE file handling is enabled or .rle files are configured to open with IrfanView.
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 · scopedUsers should avoid opening untrusted or unknown RLE files until a patch is available. Consider upgrading IrfanView to the latest version if a fix has been released, or use an alternative image viewer for RLE files as a temporary workaround.
IrfanView 4.60 or latest stable release
- 1. Navigate to the official IrfanView website (irfanview.com)
- 2. Download the latest version of IrfanView (version 4.60 or later recommended)
- 3. Uninstall the current version 4.57 from your system
- 4. Install the newly downloaded version
- 5. Verify the installation by opening IrfanView and checking the version under 'Help' > 'About'
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-29361 — 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-2021-29361 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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