Side-match vector quantization is a finite-state technique for image coding. This research shows that the side-match vector quantization is an error-propagating code and it is similar to a catastrophic convolutional code. Here, we propose a Viterbi-based algorithm to solve this problem. Various noise detection algorithms are integrated into the Viterbi algorithm (to yield the Viterbi-based algorithm) for a much better performance. According to the simulation of a binary symmetric channel with random bit-error rate (BER) 0.1%-0.01%, the Viterbi-based algorithm provides 2.8-9.6 dB and 2.3-8.4 dB gain compared with the conventional side-match vector quantization decoder and the Viterbi decoder, respectively. In addition, the proposed algorithm requires much fewer computations than the Viterbi algorithm.