dbcve.org
FreeimageApplication · Freeimage Project

CVE-2025-70968

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-14
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Public exploit Remotely reachable No privileges 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
FreeImage 3.18.0 contains a Use After Free in PluginTARGA.cpp;loadRLE().

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

FreeImage 3.18.0 contains a Use After Free vulnerability in the loadRLE() function within PluginTARGA.cpp. This memory corruption flaw occurs during parsing of TARGA image files that use Run-Length Encoding compression, allowing potential remote code execution if a specially crafted TGA file is processed.

MitigationUpgrade FreeImage to version 3.18.0 or later which contains the fix. Until patched, disable or restrict processing of untrusted TARGA image files in applications using the FreeImage library.

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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. Identify FreeImage installation and version
    Run 'freeimage --version' or check the DLL file properties (FreeImage.dll) for version info. If using a library, inspect the binary or check the version string in the compiled library.
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 3.18.0
  2. Locate the TARGA plugin
    Search for 'FreeImageTGA.so', 'FreeImageTGA.dll', or 'PluginTGA.cpp' in the FreeImage installation directory or source tree.
    Affected if The TARGA plugin (PluginTGA) is present in the FreeImage installation
  3. Confirm TGA image processing is enabled
    Check application logs, configuration, or code that loads FreeImage plugins to see if TGA format support is active. Look for calls to FreeImage_Load(FIF_TGA, ...) or similar TGA-related function usage.
    Affected if The application or system loads and uses FreeImage to process TGA image files
  4. Identify TGA file processing in your environment
    Search for .tga or .targa files being processed by applications using FreeImage. Monitor file access or review application workflows that involve image conversion or rendering.
    Affected if TGA image files are being processed by FreeImage-based applications

You are affected if FreeImage version 3.18.0 is installed and your system or applications use the TARGA plugin to process TGA 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

Upgrade FreeImage to version 3.18.0 or later which contains the fix. Until patched, disable or restrict processing of untrusted TARGA image files in applications using the FreeImage library.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest stable release newer than 3.18.0 (check GitHub releases for current version)

  1. 1. Navigate to the official FreeImage GitHub repository at https://github.com/hydra3333/FreeImage
  2. 2. Check the Releases section for the latest stable version
  3. 3. Download the source code for the most recent release version that is newer than 3.18.0
  4. 4. Verify the release notes or commit history mentions fixes for PluginTARGA.cpp or loadRLE function
  5. 5. Replace the existing FreeImage 3.18.0 installation with the new version
  6. 6. Rebuild any projects that depend on FreeImage against the new library version
  7. 7. Test image loading functionality, particularly TARGA files with RLE compression
Caveat Minor: Verify API compatibility if using advanced FreeImage features; recompilation of dependent applications required

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

Fix this in Freeimage Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,656.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-70968 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2025-70968 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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