FreeimageApplication · Freeimage Project

CVE-2021-33367

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-02-22
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 Freeimage v3.18.0 allows attacker to cause a denial of service via a crafted JXR 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 Freeimage v3.18.0 when parsing JXR (JPEG-XR) image files. An attacker can exploit this by crafting a malicious JXR file that triggers the overflow, leading to denial of service conditions.

MitigationUpdate Freeimage to the latest version that contains the security patch for this vulnerability. If updating is not immediately feasible, restrict processing of JXR 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
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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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
    Locate the Freeimage library (e.g., FreeImage.dll on Windows, libfreeimage.so on Linux) and check its version property or metadata. Common methods: right-click the DLL file and view Properties > Details, or use a tool like 'strings' to search for version strings within the binary.
    Affected if The installed Freeimage version is exactly 3.18.0
  2. Confirm JXR parsing capability is in use
    Review application logs, file processing workflows, or code that handles image files. Identify whether the application or service processes JXR (JPEG-XR) image files, either through user uploads, automated processing, or image conversion pipelines.
    Affected if JXR file parsing is enabled and Freeimage 3.18.0 is used to process these files
  3. Check for direct JXR handling in integrated software
    Search for applications or services that link to Freeimage and accept image input. Look for file type handlers, image converters, or media processing tools that may invoke Freeimage's JXR decoder.
    Affected if Software linked to Freeimage 3.18.0 processes JXR files from any source

You are affected if Freeimage version 3.18.0 is installed and JXR image files are processed by your systems.

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 Freeimage to the latest version that contains the security patch for this vulnerability. If updating is not immediately feasible, restrict processing of JXR files from untrusted sources.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Freeimage 3.18.1 or later stable release (check SourceForge/GitHub for latest available version)

  1. Check the Freeimage project repository on SourceForge or GitHub for any releases after version 3.18.0 that address security issues
  2. If a newer stable release exists (such as 3.18.1 or later), upgrade Freeimage to that version
  3. Recompile any applications that statically link against Freeimage
  4. Test image processing functionality, particularly JXR/JPEG-XR file handling, to verify the fix works
  5. Verify the version after upgrade matches the expected fixed version
Caveat Minor version upgrades in Freeimage typically maintain API compatibility, but review release notes for any breaking changes

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

Fix this in Freeimage Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-33367 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-33367 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data