CVE-2005-3378
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 · uneditedMultiple interpretation error in Norman 5.81 with the 5.83.02 engine allows remote attackers to bypass virus scanning via a file such as BAT, HTML, and EML with an "MZ" magic byte sequence which is normally associated with EXE, which causes the file to be treated as a safe type that could still be executed as a dangerous file type by applications on the end system, as demonstrated by a "triple headed" program that contains EXE, EML, and HTML content, aka the "magic byte bug."
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 confidenceThe Norman Antivirus 5.81/5.83.02 engine has a magic byte interpretation flaw where files with 'MZ' headers (normally EXE signature) are misclassified as safe, even when containing malicious BAT, HTML, or EML content. This 'triple-headed' attack allows malware to bypass virus scanning by exploiting the file type detection logic.
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= 5.81_engine_5.83.02CVSS 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
- High
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:H/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 Norman Antivirus is installedCheck system for installed Norman Virus Control software via Programs and Features, registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall, or installed security software enumerationAffected if Norman Virus Control appears in installed programs
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Identify Norman Virus Control versionOpen Norman Virus Control UI and navigate to About/Help, or check registry key for DisplayVersion under the Norman uninstall entryAffected if Version displays as 5.81 with engine 5.83.02
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Confirm engine version specificallyWithin Norman Virus Control interface, locate engine/detection engine version information typically found in Settings or About sectionAffected if Engine version reports as exactly 5.83.02
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Verify product is actively scanningConfirm Norman Virus Control real-time scanning or on-demand scanner is enabled and operationalAffected if Scanning is active and processing files with MZ headers as safe
User is affected if Norman Virus Control version 5.81 with engine 5.83.02 is installed and its file type detection is actively processing files.
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 dataReplace obsolete Norman antivirus with current endpoint protection; implement application whitelisting and disable automatic execution of email attachments as compensating controls until replacement is feasible.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $10,240.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2005-3378 — 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-2005-3378 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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- 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