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IrfanviewApplication

CVE-2021-29364

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+0x1001 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 confidence

A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the RAS image format parser (ReadRAS_W function) of IrfanView 4.57. Attackers can trigger the vulnerability by providing a specially crafted RLE (Run-Length Encoded) image file, causing a buffer overflow at offset 0x1001 that leads to arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpdate IrfanView to a version newer than 4.57 that includes the patched RAS parser; avoid opening untrusted RLE files from unknown sources until the update is applied.

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 installation
    Check for IrfanView installation by looking for i_view64.exe or i_view32.exe in Program Files or Program Files (x86) directories, or use 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion' in PowerShell
    Affected if IrfanView is installed on the system
  2. Confirm installed version is 4.57
    Right-click the IrfanView executable, select Properties, and check the Details tab for the version number, or run 'C:\Program Files\IrfanView\i_view64.exe /info' from command prompt
    Affected if The displayed version is exactly 4.57
  3. Verify RAS plugin availability
    Check for RAS file type support by opening IrfanView and attempting to view supported formats in Options > Properties/Settings > Plug-ins, or locate 'RAS' or 'imgras.dll' in the IrfanView plug-ins directory
    Affected if RAS image format support is present and enabled in IrfanView
  4. Check for recent RAS file access
    Review recent file access logs, browser download history, or email attachments for .ras files opened with IrfanView, or check Windows Event Viewer for IrfanView process activity involving .ras extension
    Affected if User has opened or attempted to open RLE-compressed RAS files from untrusted sources

You are affected if IrfanView version 4.57 is installed with RAS format support enabled and you have opened or may open untrusted RAS/RLE 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 IrfanView to a version newer than 4.57 that includes the patched RAS parser; avoid opening untrusted RLE files from unknown sources until the update is applied.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest stable IrfanView version (check official website for current release, typically 4.60 or newer)

  1. 1. Navigate to the official IrfanView website (www.irfanview.com) or the IrfanView download page
  2. 2. Check the 'News' or 'Version History' section to identify the latest stable version available
  3. 3. Download the latest version of IrfanView (recommended: version 4.60 or later if available)
  4. 4. Uninstall the current IrfanView 4.57 installation
  5. 5. Install the newly downloaded version
  6. 6. Verify the installation was successful by launching IrfanView and checking Help > About for the version number
  7. 7. Test that RAS files open correctly in the new version
Caveat IrfanView updates may include minor UI changes or plugin updates; ensure any third-party 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-2021-29364 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