CVE-2017-15250 in IrfanView
Summary
by MITRE
IrfanView version 4.44 (32bit) with PDF plugin version 4.43 allows attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted .pdf file, related to a "Read Access Violation starting at PDF!xmlParserInputRead+0x0000000000132e19."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/24/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-15250 affects IrfanView version 4.44 when used with the PDF plugin version 4.43, presenting a critical security risk that can lead to denial of service conditions and potentially more severe unspecified impacts. This issue manifests through crafted malicious pdf files that exploit a specific flaw in the PDF parsing mechanism within the IrfanView application. The vulnerability is particularly concerning as it demonstrates how multimedia applications that incorporate third-party plugins can become vectors for exploitation, especially when those plugins handle complex file formats like pdf documents.
The technical flaw resides in a read access violation occurring at the PDF!xmlParserInputRead+0x0000000000132e19 memory address within the xml parsing routines of the PDF plugin. This indicates that when IrfanView attempts to parse a malformed pdf file, the xml parser encounters invalid memory access patterns that cause the application to crash or behave unpredictably. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and memory management within the pdf plugin's xml parsing component, which fails to properly handle malformed or maliciously constructed pdf files that contain crafted xml structures. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and CWE-248, which covers unspecified other impacts from improper error handling.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service as it can potentially enable more sophisticated attacks when combined with other exploitation techniques. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to disrupt legitimate users' ability to view pdf documents within IrfanView, which might be used in professional environments where document viewing is critical. The unspecified other impacts suggest that beyond simple application crashes, this vulnerability could potentially allow for code execution or privilege escalation depending on the system configuration and how the application is deployed. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where IrfanView might be used in automated document processing workflows or where users might be running the application with elevated privileges.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-15250 should focus on immediate patching of both IrfanView and the PDF plugin to the latest versions that address the memory access violation issue. System administrators should implement strict file validation policies that prevent users from opening untrusted pdf files within IrfanView, particularly in environments where the application is used for document review. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1203, which covers exploitation for privilege escalation, and T1499, which covers network denial of service attacks, indicating that this vulnerability could be leveraged as part of broader attack campaigns. Organizations should also consider implementing application whitelisting policies that restrict the execution of IrfanView with PDF plugins in high-security environments until proper patches are deployed and validated. Additionally, network monitoring should be enhanced to detect potential exploitation attempts through malformed pdf file transfers, and regular security assessments should be conducted to identify similar vulnerabilities in other third-party plugins and applications that handle complex file formats.