CVE-2017-16552
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 · uneditedK7 Antivirus Premium before 15.1.0.53 allows local users to write to arbitrary memory locations, and consequently gain privileges, via a specific set of IOCTL calls.
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 confidenceK7 Antivirus Premium before version 15.1.0.53 contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability where specific IOCTL (Input/Output Control) calls allow unprivileged local users to write to arbitrary memory locations, effectively enabling them to elevate privileges to gain administrative or SYSTEM access on the affected system.
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< 15.1.0.53< 15.1.0308< 14.2.0137< 15.1.0297< 15.1.0324< 16.0.0131< 15.1.0324CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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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Check if K7 security product is installedLook for K7 processes or services running on the system. Common process names include K7TSMain.exe, K7SysMon.exe, K7AVSvr.exe, or check the installed programs list for K7computing products.Affected if Any K7computing security product is found on the system
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Identify the specific K7 product and versionOpen Programs and Features or use command 'wmic product get name,version' to list installed software. Locate the K7 product name and its exact version number.Affected if A K7 product version is found that matches the affected version ranges (< 15.1.0.53, < 15.1.0308, < 14.2.0137, < 15.1.0297, < 15.1.0324, < 16.0.0131)
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Compare installed version against affected rangesMatch your identified K7 product version against the affected version list: K7computing Antivirus (< 15.1.0.53 or < 15.1.0308), K7computing Endpoint (< 14.2.0137), K7computing Internet Security (< 15.1.0297), K7computing Total Security (< 15.1.0324 or < 16.0.0131), K7computing Ultimate Security (< 15.1.0324).Affected if The installed version falls within any of the affected version ranges
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Check for K7 kernel driver presenceExamine the presence of the K7 sys driver (K7Spt*.sys or similar K7 kernel drivers) which handles the IOCTL interface. Use 'sc query' or check C:\Windows\System32\drivers for K7 driver files.Affected if K7 kernel drivers are loaded and the product version is in the affected range, enabling the vulnerable IOCTL interface
If a K7 security product is installed with a version below the thresholds listed (15.1.0.53, 15.1.0308, 14.2.0137, 15.1.0297, 15.1.0324, or 16.0.0131 depending on the product), the system is affected by this privilege escalation vulnerability.
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 data14.2.013715.1.0.5315.1.0297
Upgrade K7 Antivirus Premium to version 15.1.0.53 or later. As a security product with kernel-level access, ensuring this software is patched is critical given the CVSS 7.8 severity rating and local attack vector.
- 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-2017-16552 — 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-2017-16552 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data