CVE-2018-11246 in K7AntiVirus Premium
Summary
by MITRE • 01/12/2021
K7TSMngr.exe in K7Computing K7AntiVirus Premium 15.1.0.53 has a Memory Leak.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/11/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-11246 resides within K7TSMngr.exe, a component of K7Computing K7AntiVirus Premium version 15.1.0.53, where a memory leak condition occurs that can lead to progressive resource exhaustion. This memory management flaw represents a significant security concern as it can be exploited to cause system instability and performance degradation. The K7TSMngr.exe process is responsible for managing various antivirus functionalities and system monitoring tasks, making it a critical component in the overall security architecture. When memory leaks occur within such processes, they create opportunities for attackers to manipulate system resources and potentially escalate privileges through resource exhaustion attacks.
The technical nature of this memory leak stems from improper memory allocation and deallocation practices within the K7TSMngr.exe executable. The vulnerability manifests when the application fails to properly release allocated memory blocks after their usage has completed, resulting in gradual memory consumption that can eventually lead to system slowdowns, application crashes, or complete system instability. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-401, which specifically addresses improper management of memory allocation and deallocation, making it a classic example of memory management flaws in software applications. The leak occurs at the application level where the antivirus engine interacts with system resources, creating a persistent condition that can be monitored and exploited over time.
The operational impact of this memory leak extends beyond simple performance degradation to potentially compromise system availability and stability. As the memory consumption increases over time, legitimate system processes may face resource constraints that can result in unexpected shutdowns, application failures, or denial of service conditions. Attackers could potentially exploit this vulnerability by triggering specific sequences that accelerate memory consumption, leading to system crashes or forcing the antivirus service to become unresponsive. This creates a vector for persistent attacks where adversaries can maintain system instability to avoid detection or to gain unauthorized access through service disruption. The vulnerability is particularly concerning in enterprise environments where antivirus solutions are critical for system protection and where resource exhaustion can impact overall network security posture.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-11246 should focus on immediate patching and monitoring of affected systems. Organizations should prioritize updating to the latest version of K7AntiVirus Premium that addresses this memory leak issue, as provided by K7Computing. System administrators should implement continuous monitoring of memory usage patterns for the K7TSMngr.exe process to detect anomalous behavior indicative of memory leaks. Additionally, implementing process isolation and resource limits for antivirus services can help contain the impact of memory leaks. Network security teams should consider monitoring for unusual system behavior that may indicate resource exhaustion attacks, particularly in environments where multiple antivirus solutions are deployed. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper memory management practices in security software and highlights the need for regular vulnerability assessments of endpoint protection solutions to prevent exploitation through resource exhaustion attacks. This type of vulnerability is categorized under the ATT&CK technique T1499, which covers resource exhaustion attacks, making it a critical concern for organizations seeking to maintain system availability and prevent service disruption attacks.