CVE-2017-15769 in IrfanView
Summary
by MITRE
IrfanView 4.50 - 64bit allows attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via a crafted .dds file, related to "Read Access Violation starting at FORMATS!ReadBLP_W+0x0000000000001b22."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/08/2026
CVE-2017-15769 represents a critical vulnerability in IrfanView version 4.50 64-bit that manifests through improper handling of maliciously crafted .dds image files. This vulnerability falls under the category of memory corruption issues and specifically involves a read access violation within the image processing pipeline. The flaw occurs at the FORMATS!ReadBLP_W+0x0000000000001b22 memory address, indicating that the vulnerability stems from how the application processes certain image format structures during loading operations.
The technical nature of this vulnerability creates a dangerous condition where an attacker can craft a specially formatted .dds file that triggers a memory access violation when IrfanView attempts to parse it. This type of vulnerability is classified as a buffer overflow or memory corruption issue that can lead to unpredictable application behavior. The read access violation suggests that the application attempts to access memory locations that are either unmapped or protected, potentially leading to application crashes or more severe consequences. This vulnerability directly relates to CWE-125: Out-of-bounds Read and CWE-787: Out-of-bounds Write, both of which are fundamental memory safety issues that can result in system instability.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple denial of service scenarios, as the description indicates "possibly have unspecified other impact" which suggests potential for more severe consequences including arbitrary code execution or privilege escalation. When an attacker successfully exploits this vulnerability, they can cause IrfanView to crash or behave unpredictably, disrupting normal image viewing operations. However, the unspecified nature of additional impacts raises concerns about potential for more sophisticated attacks that could leverage this memory corruption for broader system compromise. The vulnerability affects a widely used image viewer application, making it particularly attractive to threat actors seeking to exploit user trust in common software.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-15769 should focus on immediate software updates and patches provided by the vendor, as this vulnerability affects a specific version range of IrfanView. System administrators should implement strict file validation policies and avoid opening untrusted image files from unknown sources. Network security controls such as email filtering and web application firewalls should be configured to block suspicious image file attachments. Additionally, users should be educated about the risks of opening image files from untrusted sources and the importance of keeping software updated. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability could be leveraged during initial access phases or as part of a broader attack chain, making it important for security teams to monitor for exploitation attempts and implement layered defensive measures including application whitelisting and sandboxing techniques to limit potential impact.