CVE-2006-5940 in AVG Antivirus
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in Grisoft AVG Anti-Virus before 7.1.407 has unknown impact and remote attack vectors related to "Integer Issues" and parsing of .EXE files.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/27/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-5940 affects Grisoft AVG Anti-Virus software versions prior to 7.1.407, representing a critical security flaw that stems from unspecified integer issues within the software's file parsing mechanisms. This vulnerability specifically manifests during the processing of .EXE files, which are executable binary files commonly used in windows operating systems. The integer-related issues suggest that the anti-virus software contains arithmetic operations or data type conversions that do not properly validate input values, creating potential pathways for exploitation.
The technical nature of this vulnerability places it within the realm of software robustness and input validation failures, which aligns with common weakness categories such as CWE-190 Integer Overflow or Wraparound and CWE-129 Improper Validation of Array Index. When the anti-virus software attempts to parse .EXE files, it likely performs various mathematical operations on file headers, section sizes, or other binary data structures. If these operations do not properly handle integer boundaries or overflow conditions, malicious actors could craft specially formatted .EXE files designed to trigger these weaknesses during the scanning process.
The remote attack vectors associated with this vulnerability indicate that exploitation can occur without requiring local system access, making it particularly dangerous for networked environments. Attackers could potentially deliver malicious .EXE files through various means including email attachments, web downloads, or file sharing networks. The impact remains unspecified but would likely involve arbitrary code execution, system compromise, or denial of service conditions. This vulnerability represents a significant threat to endpoint security since anti-virus software is designed to protect systems from malware while simultaneously being a potential attack surface itself.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates a dangerous paradox where the security tool meant to protect against malicious software becomes a potential vector for compromise. The risk is particularly elevated in enterprise environments where anti-virus software is deployed across numerous systems and networked devices. Organizations utilizing affected versions of AVG Anti-Virus would be vulnerable to attacks that could bypass traditional security controls, potentially allowing threat actors to establish persistent access or execute malicious payloads without detection. The integer issues suggest that this vulnerability may be exploitable through buffer overflow conditions or memory corruption scenarios that could lead to complete system compromise.
The recommended mitigation strategy involves immediate upgrading to AVG Anti-Virus version 7.1.407 or later, which would contain patches addressing the integer validation issues in the .EXE file parsing components. Organizations should also implement network monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts and maintain comprehensive backup strategies to ensure rapid recovery in case of successful attacks. Additional defensive measures include implementing network segmentation to limit the spread of potential compromises, deploying additional security layers such as application whitelisting, and conducting thorough vulnerability assessments of other security software components. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date security software and highlights the need for rigorous testing of security tools themselves, as they often become targets for sophisticated attack techniques that leverage their own processing logic against them. This vulnerability aligns with attack patterns documented in the mitre att&ck framework under techniques such as execution through command and scripting interpreter and privilege escalation through software exploitation, emphasizing the multi-faceted nature of modern cyber threats targeting security infrastructure.