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IrfanviewApplication

CVE-2021-29362

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-09-28
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
A buffer overflow vulnerability in FORMATS!ReadRAS_W+0xa30 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 · moderate confidence

A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in IrfanView 4.57 within the RAS image format parser (FORMATS!ReadRAS_W function at offset +0xa30). The vulnerability is triggered when processing a specially crafted RLE (Run-Length Encoded) image file, allowing attackers to overwrite memory and potentially execute arbitrary code.

MitigationAvoid opening untrusted or unknown RLE image files in IrfanView until a vendor patch is available; consider using alternative image viewers for untrusted content as a defense-in-depth measure.

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:= 4.57

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. Verify IrfanView version
    Open IrfanView and go to Help > About, or right-click the executable and check Properties > Details to confirm the installed version is exactly 4.57
    Affected if Version shows 4.57 exactly (other versions are not affected by this specific CVE)
  2. Confirm RAS format support is present
    Check if the IrfanView FORMATS plugin (formats.dll) is loaded; this plugin handles multiple image formats including RAS and is typically in the IrfanView plugins directory
    Affected if The RAS parser module (FORMATS!ReadRAS_W) is present in the installed version, which it is by default in 4.57
  3. Identify RLE/RAS image files in use
    Search the system for .ras, .rle, or Sun raster image file extensions, particularly in directories where untrusted or downloaded images are stored
    Affected if Users process RAS/RLE image files in IrfanView, especially files from untrusted sources that could trigger the buffer overflow
  4. Check for plugin configuration
    In IrfanView, verify that the RAS format handler is enabled under Options > Plugins; the vulnerability exists in the ReadRAS_W function within the formats module
    Affected if The RAS format parser is enabled (it is enabled by default in standard installations)
  5. Audit recent image processing activity
    Review recent file open operations or image conversion logs if available, focusing on RAS/RLE file types processed by IrfanView
    Affected if IrfanView 4.57 has been used to open or process RAS image files

A user is affected if IrfanView version 4.57 is installed AND the RAS image format parser is active and has been used to process a crafted RLE file.

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

Avoid opening untrusted or unknown RLE image files in IrfanView until a vendor patch is available; consider using alternative image viewers for untrusted content as a defense-in-depth measure.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

latest stable IrfanView version (4.6x series)

  1. 1. Download the latest version of IrfanView from the official website (https://www.irfanview.com/)
  2. 2. Verify the download using the provided SHA256 checksum or PGP signature if available
  3. 3. Close any running instances of IrfanView
  4. 4. Install the new version, overwriting the existing installation
  5. 5. Alternatively, use the portable version by extracting to a new folder

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

Fix this in Irfanview Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2021-29362 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data