CVE-2007-6265 in Avast
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in avast! 4 Home and Professional Editions before 4.7.1098 allows remote attackers to have an unknown impact via a crafted TAR archive.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/01/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-6265 represents a significant security flaw in the avast! antivirus software suite, specifically affecting versions 4 Home and Professional Editions prior to 4.7.1098. This issue falls under the category of archive processing vulnerabilities where the software fails to properly handle maliciously crafted TAR archive files. The unspecified nature of the vulnerability's impact suggests that attackers could potentially exploit this weakness to execute arbitrary code or cause system instability, though the exact vector and consequences were not fully disclosed in the initial vulnerability report.
The technical flaw stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization within the avast! archive extraction routines. When processing TAR archives, the software does not adequately validate the file headers, pathnames, or symbolic links contained within the archive structure. This allows attackers to craft malicious TAR files that contain specially designed entries such as directory traversal sequences, symbolic link attacks, or oversized file headers that could trigger buffer overflows or other memory corruption issues. The vulnerability exists in the software's decompression and extraction logic where it fails to properly sanitize file paths and metadata before processing.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple remote code execution, potentially enabling attackers to gain unauthorized access to systems running vulnerable avast! versions. Attackers could leverage this weakness through various attack vectors including email attachments, web downloads, or file sharing networks where users might unknowingly download and extract malicious TAR archives. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it affects the antivirus software itself, which typically runs with elevated privileges and has broad system access capabilities. This creates a potential privilege escalation scenario where an attacker could compromise the system through the antivirus software's own processing functions.
From a cybersecurity perspective, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory) and CWE-121 (Stack-based Buffer Overflow) categories, representing common attack surfaces in archive processing software. The ATT&CK framework would classify this as a technique involving "Exploitation for Privilege Escalation" and potentially "T1059.007 - Command and Scripting Interpreter: Python" if the exploitation involves executing malicious code through the compromised antivirus process. Organizations running vulnerable versions should immediately implement patch management protocols to upgrade to avast! 4.7.1098 or later, as this represents a critical security patch that addresses the underlying archive processing flaws. Additionally, network administrators should consider implementing additional security controls such as email filtering, web content filtering, and user education to reduce the attack surface for potential exploitation attempts.