CVE-2020-10180 in Smart Security Premium
Summary
by MITRE
The ESET AV parsing engine allows virus-detection bypass via a crafted BZ2 Checksum field in an archive. This affects versions before 1294 of Smart Security Premium, Internet Security, NOD32 Antivirus, Cyber Security Pro (macOS), Cyber Security (macOS), Mobile Security for Android, Smart TV Security, and NOD32 Antivirus 4 for Linux Desktop.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/09/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-10180 represents a critical flaw in ESET's antivirus software parsing engine that specifically targets the handling of BZ2 compressed archive files. This vulnerability falls under the category of input validation and parsing errors, which are commonly classified as CWE-129 Input Validation and CWE-20 Improper Input Validation within the CWE taxonomy. The issue manifests when the antivirus engine processes maliciously crafted BZ2 checksum fields, allowing attackers to bypass virus detection mechanisms entirely. This particular weakness affects a broad range of ESET security products across multiple platforms including Windows, macOS, and Android environments, making it a widespread concern for organizations relying on ESET's protection suite.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through manipulation of the BZ2 compression format's checksum field, which is used to verify data integrity during decompression. When ESET's antivirus engine encounters a specially crafted BZ2 archive with manipulated checksum values, the parsing logic fails to properly validate the integrity check, leading to a false positive in the virus detection process. This allows malware to be silently extracted and executed without triggering any alerts or quarantine measures. The vulnerability specifically impacts versions prior to 1294 of various ESET security products, indicating that the flaw was present in the parsing engine's handling of compressed file formats. The BZ2 format itself is a freely available compression algorithm, making this attack vector particularly concerning as it leverages standard compression utilities that are commonly used in legitimate software distribution.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates a significant security risk for organizations using affected ESET products, as it essentially allows attackers to deliver malicious payloads that would otherwise be detected and blocked by standard antivirus protection. The bypass capability means that threat actors can craft malicious archives that appear legitimate to the antivirus engine, potentially leading to successful malware deployment, data exfiltration, or system compromise. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter and T1070 Indicator Removal on Host, as it enables attackers to bypass security controls while maintaining persistence on target systems. Organizations may experience false sense of security due to the undetected nature of the malicious payloads, potentially allowing attackers to establish long-term presence within networks.
The mitigation strategy for this vulnerability requires immediate deployment of ESET security updates, specifically versions 1294 and later, which contain patches addressing the BZ2 checksum validation flaw. System administrators should prioritize updating all affected ESET products across all platforms, including Smart Security Premium, Internet Security, NOD32 Antivirus, Cyber Security Pro for macOS, Mobile Security for Android, Smart TV Security, and NOD32 Antivirus 4 for Linux Desktop. Additionally, organizations should implement network monitoring to detect unusual BZ2 archive usage patterns and consider implementing additional layers of security controls such as network segmentation, application whitelisting, and behavioral monitoring solutions. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation in security software and highlights the need for comprehensive testing of compression and archive handling functions within antivirus engines, as these components often serve as attack surfaces for sophisticated malware delivery mechanisms.