Vulnerability record · CVE-2017-5567 · published 21 March 2017
CVE-2017-5567: Avast free antivirus uncontrolled search path element vulnerability
Avast · Free Antivirus
Code injection vulnerability in Avast Premier 12.3 (and earlier), Internet Security 12.3 (and earlier), Pro Antivirus 12.3 (and earlier), and Free Antivirus 12.3 (and earlier) allows a local attacker to bypass a self-protection mechanism, inject arbitrary code, and take full control of any Avast process via a "DoubleAgent" attack. One perspective on this issue is that (1) these products do not use the Protected Processes feature, and therefore an attacker can enter an arbitrary Application Verifier Provider DLL under Image File Execution Options in the registry; (2) the self-protection mechanism is intended to block all local processes (regardless of privileges) from modifying Image File Execution Options for these products; and (3) this mechanism can be bypassed by an attacker who temporarily renames Image File Execution Options during the attack.
Description
Code injection vulnerability in Avast Premier 12.3 (and earlier), Internet Security 12.3 (and earlier), Pro Antivirus 12.3 (and earlier), and Free Antivirus 12.3 (and earlier) allows a local attacker to bypass a self-protection mechanism, inject arbitrary code, and take full control of any Avast process via a "DoubleAgent" attack. One perspective on this issue is that (1) these products do not use the Protected Processes feature, and therefore an attacker can enter an arbitrary Application Verifier Provider DLL under Image File Execution Options in the registry; (2) the self-protection mechanism is intended to block all local processes (regardless of privileges) from modifying Image File Execution Options for these products; and (3) this mechanism can be bypassed by an attacker who temporarily renames Image File Execution Options during the attack.
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Affected products
4 vulnerable configurations from NVD's CPE data, grouped by vendor and product.
References
| Link | Tags |
|---|---|
| http://cybellum.com/doubleagent-taking-full-control-antivirus/ | Third Party Advisory |
| http://cybellum.com/doubleagentzero-day-code-injection-and-persistence-technique/ | Technical DescriptionThird Party Advisory |
| http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/97017 | Third Party AdvisoryVDB Entry |
| http://cybellum.com/doubleagent-taking-full-control-antivirus/ | Third Party Advisory |
| http://cybellum.com/doubleagentzero-day-code-injection-and-persistence-technique/ | Technical DescriptionThird Party Advisory |
| http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/97017 | Third Party AdvisoryVDB Entry |
Track CVE-2017-5567 inside VULONE
Watch it alongside the ransomware crews, C2 infrastructure and forum chatter that reference it, query it through the API and pull it into your SIEM over TAXII.
Related vulnerabilities
Same products first, then exploited flaws of the same weakness class.
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2017-5567), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-29). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.
