CVE-2017-10731 in IrfanView
Summary
by MITRE
IrfanView version 4.44 (32bit) allows attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service via a crafted .rle file, related to a "User Mode Write AV starting at FORMATS!GetPlugInInfo+0x0000000000007d80."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/22/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-10731 affects IrfanView version 4.44 32bit and represents a critical security flaw that enables remote code execution or denial of service through maliciously crafted .rle files. This issue manifests as a User Mode Write Access Violation within the application's format handling mechanism, specifically at the FORMATS!GetPlugInInfo function address 0x0000000000007d80. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and memory management within the image processing pipeline, particularly when handling Run-Length Encoded file formats.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when IrfanView attempts to parse a malformed .rle file that triggers a buffer overflow condition or memory corruption during the plugin information retrieval process. This write access violation indicates that the application writes to memory locations it should not have access to, potentially allowing attackers to overwrite critical program structures or execute arbitrary code within the context of the running application. The vulnerability exists in the application's handling of external file formats, specifically within the plugin architecture that dynamically loads and processes various image formats.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to users who may unknowingly open maliciously crafted .rle files through email attachments, web downloads, or file sharing systems. The attack surface expands when considering that IrfanView is widely used for image viewing across various environments including corporate networks and personal computing systems. Successful exploitation could result in complete system compromise, as attackers could leverage this vulnerability to execute malicious code with the privileges of the user running IrfanView. The denial of service aspect means that even attempting to open a malicious file could crash the application or potentially cause system instability.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-121 Stack-based Buffer Overflow and CWE-122 Heap-based Buffer Overflow categories, representing classic memory corruption issues that have been extensively documented in cybersecurity literature. This flaw also maps to ATT&CK technique T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution, where adversaries leverage application vulnerabilities to execute code on target systems. The specific nature of the access violation suggests this could be leveraged for privilege escalation attacks, particularly in environments where IrfanView is run with elevated privileges or in automated processing scenarios.
Mitigation strategies should include immediate patching of IrfanView to version 4.45 or later, which contains the necessary fixes for this vulnerability. Users should implement strict file validation policies and avoid opening untrusted image files from unknown sources. Network administrators should consider implementing application whitelisting controls to restrict execution of vulnerable versions of IrfanView. Additionally, security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual file processing activities or application crashes that could indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and memory safety practices in multimedia applications, particularly those handling external file formats in untrusted environments.