CVE-2008-5548
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 · uneditedVirusBuster 4.5.11.0, when Internet Explorer 6 or 7 is used, allows remote attackers to bypass detection of malware in an HTML document by placing an MZ header (aka "EXE info") at the beginning, and modifying the filename to have (1) no extension, (2) a .txt extension, or (3) a .jpg extension, as demonstrated by a document containing a CVE-2006-5745 exploit.
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 confidenceVirusBuster 4.5.11.0 antivirus can be bypassed by placing an MZ header (EXE magic bytes) at the beginning of an HTML document containing malicious content (CVE-2006-5745 exploit). The scanner incorrectly identifies the file as an executable based on these magic bytes or file extension tricks (.txt, .jpg, no extension), failing to analyze the HTML content for embedded exploits.
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= 4.5.11.0CVSS 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
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:M/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Identify VirusBuster installation and versionCheck the installed VirusBuster antivirus version. On Windows, this can typically be found in Add/Remove Programs, the VirusBuster program itself (Help > About), or by checking the executable properties of the VirusBuster scanner service.Affected if The installed version is exactly 4.5.11.0, making it vulnerable to the bypass described in CVE-2008-5548.
-
Verify scanner handles HTML with MZ headerCreate a test file containing an HTML document with embedded script (simulating CVE-2006-5745 exploit content) and prepend the MZ header (hex: 4D 5A) to the file. Submit this file to VirusBuster for scanning.Affected if VirusBuster identifies the file as an executable or safe based on the MZ header rather than analyzing the HTML content for malicious scripts, indicating the bypass is effective.
-
Verify scanner handles HTML with misleading extensionsCreate a test HTML file containing malicious script content and rename it with a non-executable extension such as .txt, .jpg, or remove the extension entirely. Submit to VirusBuster for scanning.Affected if VirusBuster fails to detect the malicious HTML content based on the file extension rather than inspecting the actual file content, indicating vulnerability to this bypass method.
If VirusBuster version 4.5.11.0 is installed and the scanner can be bypassed by files with MZ headers or misleading extensions containing HTML exploits, the environment is affected by CVE-2008-5548.
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 dataUpgrade VirusBuster to a version that properly inspects HTML content regardless of file extension or magic bytes, or switch to an antivirus solution with more robust content-based threat detection.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $3,664.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-5548 — 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-2008-5548 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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