Symantec Antivirus/pcAnywhere RAR Archive Dec2Rar.dll memory corruption

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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CTI Interest Score
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6.6$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Symantec Antivirus and pcAnywhere. The affected element is an unknown function in the library Dec2Rar.dll of the component RAR Archive Handler. The manipulation leads to memory corruption. This vulnerability is documented as CVE-2005-4438. The attack can be initiated remotely. There is not any exploit available. It is recommended that the affected component be replaced with an alternative.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Symantec Antivirus and pcAnywhere (Anti-Malware Software) (version now known) and classified as critical. This issue affects some unknown processing in the library Dec2Rar.dll of the component RAR Archive Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a memory corruption vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-119. The product performs operations on a memory buffer, but it can read from or write to a memory location that is outside of the intended boundary of the buffer. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

Heap-based buffer overflow in Dec2Rar.dll 3.2.14.3, as distributed in the Symantec Antivirus Library and used by various Symantec products, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via RAR archives with sub-block headers that contain incorrect values in the length field.

The weakness was released 12/20/2005 by Alex Wheeler with rem0te.com (Website). It is possible to read the advisory at rem0te.com. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2005-4438 since 12/21/2005. The attack may be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is needed for a successful exploitation. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit.

It is declared as proof-of-concept. We expect the 0-day to have been worth approximately $25k-$100k. The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 38506 (Symantec Antivirus Library RAR Decompression Heap Overflow Vulnerabilities).

Applying a patch is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at symantec.com. The problem might be mitigated by replacing the product with as an alternative. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be establishing an alternative product. Furthermore it is possible to detect and prevent this kind of attack with TippingPoint and the filter 11762.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at X-Force (23705), SecurityFocus (BID 15971†), OSVDB (21983†), Secunia (SA18131†) and SecurityTracker (ID 1015384†). news.com.com is providing further details. Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

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CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 7.3
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 6.6

VulDB Base Score: 7.3
VulDB Temp Score: 6.6
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

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VulDB Base Score: 🔍
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Exploitinginfo

Class: Memory corruption
CWE: CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔍
Status: Proof-of-Concept

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

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Qualys ID: 🔍
Qualys Name: 🔍

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Alternative
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔍

Patch: symantec.com
TippingPoint: 🔍

McAfee IPS: 🔍
McAfee IPS Version: 🔍

ISS Proventia IPS: 🔍
PaloAlto IPS: 🔍
Fortigate IPS: 🔍

Timelineinfo

12/20/2005 🔍
12/20/2005 +0 days 🔍
12/20/2005 +0 days 🔍
12/20/2005 +0 days 🔍
12/20/2005 +0 days 🔍
12/20/2005 +0 days 🔍
12/20/2005 +0 days 🔍
12/21/2005 +0 days 🔍
12/22/2005 +1 days 🔍
12/25/2005 +3 days 🔍
06/28/2025 +7125 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: symantec.com

Advisory: rem0te.com
Researcher: Alex Wheeler
Organization: rem0te.com
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2005-4438 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2005-4438
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-1931
CERT: 🔍
X-Force: 23705
SecurityFocus: 15971 - Symantec Antivirus Library RAR Decompression Heap Overflow Vulnerabilities
Secunia: 18131 - Symantec AntiVirus RAR Archive Decompression Buffer Overflow, Highly Critical
OSVDB: 21983 - Symantec Multiple Products RAR Archive Decompression Overflow
SecurityTracker: 1015384 - Symantec Anti Virus Library Buffer Overflows in Processing RAR Format Sub-Block Header Length Values Let Remote Users Execute Arbitrary Code
Vulnerability Center: 10044 - Symantec Heap Overflow via Decompression of RAR Archives, Medium
Vupen: ADV-2005-3003

Misc.: 🔍

Entryinfo

Created: 12/22/2005 16:42
Updated: 06/28/2025 20:14
Changes: 12/22/2005 16:42 (91), 01/19/2025 07:22 (21), 06/28/2025 20:14 (3)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216:711:103

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