What is CVE-2020-21428?

CVE-2020-21428 is a high-severity vulnerability in Freeimage Project, classified under Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input (Classic Buffer Overflow). CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2023-08-22.

How severe is CVE-2020-21428?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.

Buffer overflow in Freeimage Project

CVE-2020-21428

Buffer Overflow vulnerability in function LoadRGB in PluginDDS.cpp in FreeImage 3.18.0 allows remote attackers to run arbitrary code and cause other impacts via crafted image file.

Vulnerability class: Buffer Overflow

Published 2023-08-22 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.005 (37.7th percentile), scored 2026-09-29.

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 38th percentile — 37.7% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.005 · newest: 0.005 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Freeimage Project — versions 3.18.0

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-120 — Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input (Classic Buffer Overflow)

References

sourceforge.net/p/freeimage/bugs/299/ (Third Party Advisory)
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/… (vendor-advisory)
lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/… (vendor-advisory)
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2023/11/msg00020.html (mailing-list)
www.debian.org/security/2023/dsa-5579 (vendor-advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-21428?: CVE-2020-21428 is a high-severity vulnerability in Freeimage Project, classified under Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input (Classic Buffer Overflow). CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2023-08-22.
How severe is CVE-2020-21428?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.