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CVE Record

CVE-2020-22524: Buffer Overflow vulnerability in FreeImage_Load function in FreeImage Library 3.19.0(r1828) allows attacker...

Buffer Overflow vulnerability in FreeImage_Load function in FreeImage Library 3.19.0(r1828) allows attackers to cuase a denial of service via crafted PFM file.

MediumCVSS 6.5Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

FreeImage can crash when loading a specially crafted PFM image. The documented impact is denial of service, not data theft or code execution. Risk is highest where FreeImage processes untrusted image files, such as upload, conversion, or thumbnail workflows.

Executive priority

Treat as a moderate availability risk. Prioritize externally reachable or business-critical image-processing services, especially those accepting customer-supplied files. Routine patching is appropriate unless FreeImage sits in a public upload pipeline.

Technical view

CVE-2020-22524 is a CWE-120 buffer overflow in FreeImage_Load in FreeImage Library 3.19.0(r1828). The CVSS 3.1 score is 6.5, with network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, required user interaction, and high availability impact only.

Likely exposure

Exposure is likely limited to systems using FreeImage to parse PFM or other image inputs from untrusted sources. The bundle lists affected vendor and product as n/a, so inventory should focus on installed FreeImage packages and embedded library copies.

Exploitation context

The sources describe denial of service through a crafted PFM file. CISA KEV status is false in the bundle, and no provided source states active exploitation. User interaction is required under the CVSS vector.

Researcher notes

The public bundle identifies FreeImage_Load and PFM parsing but does not provide complete affected product metadata or exploit-in-the-wild evidence. Validate exposure by dependency and package inventory rather than relying on CPE matching alone.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply relevant Debian or Fedora FreeImage security updates where applicable.
  • Check upstream or distribution guidance for fixed FreeImage package versions.
  • Identify and update applications that statically bundle FreeImage.
  • Restrict untrusted PFM/image processing until patched.
  • Add input handling limits around image upload and conversion workflows.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory hosts, containers, and applications for FreeImage usage.
  • Compare installed FreeImage packages against Debian and Fedora advisories.
  • Review image upload, thumbnailing, and conversion paths for PFM handling.
  • Confirm vulnerable workflows reject or safely handle malformed image files.
  • Monitor image-processing services for crash loops or abnormal restarts.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
7

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-120: Exact CWE lookup

Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2020-22524 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
6.5 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
6Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
6.5CVSS 3.1MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H2.83.6Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

6.5Medium
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2020-22524Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
n/an/an/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-120

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-120 · source CWE mapping

Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow')

Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.

Open CWE intelligenceSame-CWE CVEs