CVE-2005-3154
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedFormat string vulnerability in the logging functionality in BitDefender AntiVirus 7.2 through 9 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service and possibly execute arbitrary code via format string specifiers in file or directory name.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceFormat string vulnerability in BitDefender AntiVirus versions 7.2-9 logging functionality allows remote attackers to inject format string specifiers (e.g., %s, %x, %n) into file or directory names, which are improperly passed to logging functions. This can overwrite memory addresses leading to denial of service or arbitrary code execution.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 7.2= 8.0= 9.0CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify BitDefender installationCheck for BitDefender AntiVirus software on the system by examining installed programs via the system control panel or program directoriesAffected if BitDefender AntiVirus is present on the system
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Determine installed BitDefender versionLocate the BitDefender version information through the program interface, installation directory, or system registry, then compare against affected versions 7.2, 8.0, and 9.0Affected if The installed version is 7.2, 8.0, or 9.0
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Confirm logging functionality is accessibleVerify that logging features are enabled or accessible in the BitDefender configuration, as the vulnerability exists specifically in the logging subsystemAffected if Logging is enabled and the application has write access to log files
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Assess file system exposureDetermine whether the system scans or monitors directories where external users could place files with specially crafted names containing format string specifiers (such as %s, %x, %n)Affected if BitDefender scans directories accessible to untrusted users or processes
The environment is affected if BitDefender versions 7.2, 8.0, or 9.0 are installed with logging functionality enabled and the system scans directories where maliciously named files could be introduced.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply vendor-supplied patches or upgrade BitDefender to a version beyond 9.x. For legacy systems, implement application whitelisting and restrict file system access to prevent creation of maliciously-named files in scanned directories.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2005-3154 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2005-3154 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data