CVE-2017-20286

Deferred Deferred - Pending Action

Heap-based Buffer Overflow in DevIL Image Library

Publication date: 2026-10-14

Last updated on: 2026-10-16

Assigner: VulnCheck

Description

DevIL through 1.8.0 contains a heap-based buffer overflow in iGetPalette() in il_gif.cpp that allows attackers to write beyond a 768-byte palette buffer when loading GIF images. Attackers can supply a crafted two-frame GIF whose second frame uses disposal method 1 with a local colour table, writing up to 384 controlled bytes past the heap allocation and possibly executing code.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

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Meta Information

Published

2026-10-14

Last Modified

2026-10-16

Generated

2026-10-19

AI Q&A

2026-10-15

EPSS Evaluated

2026-10-18

NVD

CVE-2017-20286

EUVD

EUVD-2017-19019

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
DentonW	DevIL	0

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-787	The product writes data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

CVE-2017-20286 is a heap-based buffer overflow in DevIL v1.8.0's GIF loader. It occurs when processing a crafted two-frame GIF where the second frame uses disposal method 1 with a local color table. The code fails to properly validate palette size, allowing up to 384 bytes to be written past a fixed 768-byte buffer in iGetPalette(). This can corrupt heap memory and potentially lead to code execution.

Detection Guidance

Detecting this vulnerability requires analyzing GIF files for specific malicious patterns. Use tools like appverif.exe to monitor for heap overflows during image processing. Check DevIL library versions in use and test with crafted GIFs containing two frames with disposal method 1 and local color tables.

Impact Analysis

If you use DevIL to process untrusted GIF files, this flaw could allow attackers to crash your application or execute arbitrary code by tricking you into opening a malicious GIF. The vulnerability is reachable through the public ilLoadL API, meaning any software using DevIL's GIF loading functions is at risk.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability does not directly affect compliance with GDPR or HIPAA. However, if exploited, it could lead to unauthorized code execution or data corruption, which may result in data breaches. Such breaches could violate GDPR's data protection requirements or HIPAA's safeguards for protected health information, depending on the context of use.

Mitigation Strategies

Immediately update DevIL to a patched version beyond 1.8.0. If updating is not possible, restrict processing of untrusted GIF files. Implement strict input validation for GIF files and disable automatic palette handling in image processing libraries.

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