CVE-2005-3664
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 · uneditedHeap-based buffer overflow in Kaspersky Anti-Virus Engine, as used in Kaspersky Personal 5.0.227, Anti-Virus On-Demand Scanner for Linux 5.0.5, and F-Secure Anti-Virus for Linux 4.50 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted CHM file.
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 confidenceHeap-based buffer overflow in Kaspersky Anti-Virus engine's CHM (Compiled HTML Help) file parser. When the engine scans a crafted CHM file with malformed data, the overflow allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via the antivirus process context.
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= 4.50= 5.0.5= 5.0.227CVSS 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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Identify installed antivirus productCheck system for F-Secure Anti Virus or Kaspersky Anti-Virus installation. Look in Add/Remove Programs, program files directory, or run 'reg query' for installed software.Affected if The product is F-Secure Anti Virus version 4.50 or Kaspersky Anti-Virus version 5.0.5 or Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal version 5.0.227 or earlier versions of these products.
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Determine exact version of installed antivirusOpen the antivirus interface and navigate to About/Information section, or run the product's version command (for Kaspersky, typically 'avp version' from command line).Affected if Installed version matches or is older than the affected versions listed.
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Check if CHM file scanning is enabledOpen antivirus settings and look for file type scanning preferences. Check if CHM files are set to be scanned on-access, on-demand, or during scheduled scans.Affected if CHM scanning is enabled - the vulnerable code path is triggered when the antivirus engine parses CHM files.
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Verify real-time scanning is activeCheck if the antivirus real-time protection or on-access scanning is turned on. This is typically shown as a green shield icon or in the main status screen.Affected if Real-time scanning is active and CHM files would be scanned upon access.
You are affected if you have F-Secure Anti Virus 4.50 or Kaspersky Anti-Virus 5.0.5 or Personal 5.0.227 (or earlier versions) installed AND CHM file scanning is enabled in your antivirus configuration.
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 patches or update to non-vulnerable versions of Kaspersky/F-Secure antivirus products. Until patched, avoid opening untrusted CHM files and consider disabling automatic scanning of CHM files as a temporary workaround.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,968.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2005-3664 — 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-2005-3664 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