dbcve.org
Avast AntivirusApplication · Avast

CVE-2008-6846

MEDIUM · 6.8 CVSS v2.0 Published 2009-07-02
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Multiple stack-based buffer overflows in avast! Linux Home Edition 1.0.5, 1.0.5-1, and 1.0.8 allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) or execute arbitrary code via a malformed (1) ISO or (2) RPM 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 confidence

Stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability in avast! Linux Home Edition versions 1.0.5 through 1.0.8 when parsing malformed ISO or RPM files. The vulnerability allows remote attackers to crash the application or potentially execute arbitrary code via specially crafted archive files.

MitigationUpdate to a supported version of avast! antivirus; if the product is no longer supported (Linux Home Edition was discontinued), migrate to a currently-supported endpoint protection solution.

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
Avast AntivirusApplication
Affected:= 1.0.5= 1.0.5-1= 1.0.8

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
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:M/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 checks

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

  1. Verify avast! Linux Home Edition is installed
    Check for the presence of avast! antivirus binaries or packages: look for 'avast' in /usr/bin, /usr/local/bin, or query the package manager (dpkg -l | grep avast or rpm -qa | grep avast)
    Affected if The avast! Linux Home Edition package is found on the system
  2. Determine the installed version
    Run 'avast --version' or query the package: 'dpkg -l avast' or 'rpm -qi avast'
    Affected if The installed version is 1.0.5, 1.0.5-1, or 1.0.8 specifically (note: versions 1.0.6 and 1.0.7 are not listed as affected)
  3. Confirm the file scanning component is active
    Check if the real-time or on-demand scanner is enabled to process ISO and RPM files - inspect avast configuration files in /etc/avast or ~/.avast for scanning rules
    Affected if File scanning for ISO or RPM archives is enabled and the application processes these file types

The system is affected if avast! Linux Home Edition version 1.0.5, 1.0.5-1, or 1.0.8 is installed and configured to scan ISO or RPM files.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update to a supported version of avast! antivirus; if the product is no longer supported (Linux Home Edition was discontinued), migrate to a currently-supported endpoint protection solution.

Fix this in Avast Antivirus Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-6846 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2008-6846 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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