CVE-2015-7303 in Management Console
Summary
by MITRE
Use-after-free vulnerability in the Update Manager service in Avira Management Console allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a large header.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/11/2018
The CVE-2015-7303 vulnerability represents a critical use-after-free flaw within the Update Manager service of Avira Management Console, a widely deployed endpoint security management solution. This vulnerability resides in the service responsible for managing software updates across enterprise environments, making it a prime target for sophisticated attackers seeking persistent access to corporate networks. The flaw manifests when the service processes incoming update requests with malformed headers, specifically those containing unusually large header data structures that trigger memory management errors during processing.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper memory deallocation handling within the Update Manager service implementation. When processing update requests with oversized headers, the service allocates memory for header parsing but fails to properly validate or handle the memory cleanup process. This creates a scenario where freed memory blocks are accessed again by subsequent operations, leading to a use-after-free condition that can be exploited by remote attackers. The vulnerability specifically affects the service's ability to handle header data exceeding normal bounds, allowing attackers to craft malicious update requests that manipulate memory pointers and execution flow.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to enterprise security infrastructure as it enables remote code execution without authentication requirements. Attackers can leverage this flaw to execute arbitrary code on systems running vulnerable Avira Management Console versions, potentially gaining full administrative control over the endpoint management infrastructure. The impact extends beyond individual compromised systems to entire network perimeters, as the management console typically controls updates for multiple endpoints simultaneously, creating a potential attack vector for lateral movement and privilege escalation within corporate environments.
The exploitability of CVE-2015-7303 aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for remote code execution and T1068 for local privilege escalation, while the underlying memory corruption vulnerability maps to CWE-416 which specifically addresses use-after-free conditions. Organizations utilizing Avira Management Console in enterprise environments face heightened risk due to the service's privileged operation and network accessibility, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous in unpatched deployments. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper memory management in security-critical services and highlights the need for robust input validation mechanisms in enterprise management platforms.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including applying official patches from Avira, implementing network segmentation to restrict access to the Update Manager service, and deploying intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious header data patterns. Additionally, administrators should consider disabling unnecessary update management functionality and implementing strict access controls to limit exposure. The vulnerability underscores the necessity of regular security assessments of management infrastructure components and proper memory safety practices in software development lifecycle processes to prevent similar issues in future deployments.