In plain language
What this advisory means
Multiple security flaws have been found in ClamAV, an antivirus scanning component used by some Cisco software. These flaws could let an attacker send specially crafted files to disrupt the scanning process, causing it to stop working temporarily (a denial of service). Cisco has fixed these flaws in newer software versions for affected products. There are no workarounds to prevent these issues, so updating the software is the best way to stay protected.
Technical explanation
How the issue affects the environment
The vulnerabilities in ClamAV involve improper boundary checks and memory handling in various file format parsers, including zip, PESpin, GPT, PDF, Mach-O, and XAR. These issues can lead to out-of-bounds writes, integer overflows, double-free memory conditions, and buffer overflows during file scanning. Exploiting these bugs allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to cause the ClamAV scanning process to terminate, resulting in a denial of service (DoS). The severity is higher on Windows platforms because ClamAV runs with elevated privileges there, affecting Cisco Secure Endpoint Connector for Windows significantly. On Linux and Mac platforms, the impact is medium due to lower privilege execution contexts. Cisco has released updated Secure Endpoint Connector software versions addressing these vulnerabilities.
Operational impact
Why teams should care
The main impact is a denial of service, where ClamAV-based scanning stops unexpectedly, potentially allowing malicious files to bypass detection temporarily. On Windows platforms running the Cisco Secure Endpoint Connector, this may pose a higher security risk due to the privileged context, increasing exposure. Organizations using affected Cisco Endpoint Connectors on any platform should update promptly to reduce the risk of scanning interruptions and maintain security posture. There are no workarounds, so reliance on patching is critical.
Immediate action
Customers should upgrade affected Cisco Secure Endpoint Connector software to the fixed releases provided by Cisco to fully remediate these vulnerabilities. Cisco Secure Endpoint Private Cloud users must push these updated connectors to endpoints once available. No workarounds exist, so applying these updates as soon as possible is essential for security.
Affected and fixed releases
Temporary risk reduction
There are no workarounds available that address these vulnerabilities. Applying the official software updates is necessary to mitigate the risks.
Evidence and validation checklist
- Multiple vulnerabilities in ClamAV allow denial of service via crafted files during scanning.
- Cisco Secure Endpoint Connector for Windows is highly impacted due to privileged scanning context.
- Linux and Mac versions have medium impact because scanning runs with lower privileges.
- No workarounds exist; only software updates address these vulnerabilities.
- Fixed software versions are published for affected platforms.
- Proof-of-concept exploits exist for two of the CVEs.
- Cisco Secure Endpoint Private Cloud itself is not impacted, only the Connector software it distributes.
Authoritative reference
Cisco PSIRT Advisories
QCS detected and normalized this record from the official source. Vendor guidance remains authoritative.