CVE-2005-4680
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 · uneditedSophos Anti-Virus before 4.02, 4.5.x before 4.5.9, 4.6.x before 4.6.9, and 5.x before 5.1.4 allow remote attackers to hide arbitrary files and data via crafted ARJ archives, which are not properly scanned.
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 confidenceSophos Anti-Virus versions before 4.02, 4.5.9, 4.6.9, and 5.1.4 fail to properly scan crafted ARJ archive files, allowing malware and arbitrary malicious content to be hidden within these archives and bypass detection.
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< 4.02>= 4.5.0, < 4.5.9>= 4.6.0, < 4.6.9>= 5.0.0, < 5.1.4= 4.04CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N
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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Locate Sophos Anti-Virus installationCheck for Sophos installation directory (commonly C:\Program Files\Sophos or C:\Program Files (x86)\Sophos on Windows, or /opt/sophos on Linux). Look for SAVAdmin or savdadmin command-line tools, or check Add/Remove Programs for Sophos Anti-Virus entry.Affected if Sophos Anti-Virus is installed on the system
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Identify installed Sophos Anti-Virus versionRun the Sophos command-line admin tool (savdadmin --version on Linux/Unix, or look at the program's Properties in Add/Remove Programs on Windows). Alternatively, check the main executable file properties for sav.exe or sophosav.exe.Affected if Unable to determine version or version matches the affected ranges (< 4.02, 4.04, 4.5.0-4.5.8, 4.6.0-4.6.8, 5.0.0-5.1.3)
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Compare version against affected rangesMatch the installed version number to the vulnerable ranges: versions below 4.02, version 4.04 exactly, 4.5.0 through 4.5.8, 4.6.0 through 4.6.8, or 5.0.0 through 5.1.3 are all affected.Affected if Installed version falls into any of these ranges: <4.02, =4.04, >=4.5.0 <4.5.9, >=4.6.0 <4.6.9, >=5.0.0 <5.1.4
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Verify ARJ archive scanning capabilityCheck Sophos configuration for ARJ archive scanning support. On enterprise-managed deployments, review the sav configuration files or enterprise console settings for ARJ scanning status. The vulnerability exists when ARJ scanning is available and used.Affected if ARJ archive scanning is enabled and the version is in the affected range listed above
If Sophos Anti-Virus is installed and its version falls below 4.02, is exactly 4.04, or falls within 4.5.0-4.5.8, 4.6.0-4.6.8, or 5.0.0-5.1.3, then the system is vulnerable to undetected malware in ARJ archives.
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 data4.024.5.94.6.9
Update Sophos Anti-Virus to version 4.5.9 or higher for the 4.5.x branch, 4.6.9 or higher for the 4.6.x branch, or 5.1.4 or higher for the 5.x branch.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2005-4680 — 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-2005-4680 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
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