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K9 Web ProtectionApplication · Bluecoat

CVE-2007-1685

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2007-06-08
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Buffer overflow in k9filter.exe in BlueCoat K9 Web Protection 3.2.36, and probably other versions before 3.2.44, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via a long HTTP GET request to port 2372.

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 confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in k9filter.exe of BlueCoat K9 Web Protection 3.2.36 and earlier versions allows remote attackers to send a long HTTP GET request to port 2372, causing denial of service (crash) and potentially enabling arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpgrade BlueCoat K9 Web Protection to version 3.2.44 or later to patch the vulnerability. If immediate upgrading is not feasible, restrict network access to port 2372 to prevent external exploitation.

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
K9 Web ProtectionApplication
Affected:= 3.2.36

CVSS 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
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm K9 Web Protection is installed
    Check for the presence of k9filter.exe in the installation directory, typically in 'C:\Program Files\BlueCoat\K9 Web Protection' or look for K9 in the Windows Add/Remove Programs list.
    Affected if K9 Web Protection software is not installed on the system
  2. Identify the installed K9 version
    Open the K9 user interface and navigate to the About or Help section to view the version number. Alternatively, check the file properties of k9filter.exe by right-clicking the file and selecting Properties > Details.
    Affected if The installed version is 3.2.36 or any earlier version (such as 3.2.35, 3.2.34, etc.)
  3. Verify k9filter.exe is running
    Open Windows Task Manager, go to the Processes tab, and look for k9filter.exe in the list. Alternatively, run 'tasklist /FI "IMAGENAME eq k9filter.exe"' from command prompt.
    Affected if k9filter.exe process is actively running on the system
  4. Check if port 2372 is listening
    Run 'netstat -an | findstr :2372' from command prompt to see if port 2372 is in LISTENING state. Alternatively, use a port scanner against localhost or the affected host on port 2372.
    Affected if Port 2372 is open and listening for incoming connections

The system is affected if BlueCoat K9 Web Protection version 3.2.36 or earlier is installed, k9filter.exe is running, and port 2372 is exposed to the network.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade BlueCoat K9 Web Protection to version 3.2.44 or later to patch the vulnerability. If immediate upgrading is not feasible, restrict network access to port 2372 to prevent external exploitation.

Recommended fix High confidence

K9 Web Protection version 3.2.44 or later

  1. 1. Obtain the latest version of K9 Web Protection (version 3.2.44 or later) from the official Blue Coat vendor website.
  2. 2. Ensure all current K9 Web Protection services are stopped before upgrading.
  3. 3. Back up the current K9 Web Protection configuration if applicable.
  4. 4. Install version 3.2.44 or later of K9 Web Protection.
  5. 5. Restart the K9 Web Protection service.
  6. 6. Verify the service is running and HTTP filtering on port 2372 is operational.

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in K9 Web Protection Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2007-1685 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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