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AntivirusApplication · K7computing

CVE-2017-16554

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-01-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 14.2.0137 / 15.1.0.53 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
K7 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 confidence

K7 Antivirus Premium before version 15.1.0.53 contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability in its kernel-mode driver. The driver accepts specific IOCTL (Input/Output Control) calls without proper validation, allowing an unprivileged local user to write to arbitrary memory locations and execute code with elevated (SYSTEM) privileges.

MitigationUpgrade K7 Antivirus Premium to version 15.1.0.53 or later to obtain the patched driver. Organizations should verify the installed version across endpoints and ensure the update is applied promptly, as this is a local attack vector requiring prior user access.

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
AntivirusApplication
Affected:< 15.1.0.53< 15.1.0308
EndpointApplication
Affected:< 14.2.0137
Internet SecurityApplication
Affected:< 15.1.0297
Total SecurityApplication
Affected:< 15.1.0324< 16.0.0131
Ultimate SecurityApplication
Affected:< 15.1.0324

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify installed K7 security products
    Open Programs and Features (appwiz.cpl) or check the following registry key: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* for entries containing 'K7' or check C:\Program Files\K7 Computing for product folders
    Affected if Any K7 Antivirus, Endpoint, Internet Security, Total Security, or Ultimate Security product is listed as installed
  2. Determine installed product version
    Check the version in the registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\K7 Computing\ProductName\Version or right-click the executable in C:\Program Files\K7 Computing\ProductName and view Properties > Details
    Affected if The version number is lower than 15.1.0.53 for K7 Antivirus Premium, or lower than 15.1.0308/15.1.0297/15.1.0324/14.2.0137/16.0.0131 for the respective product line
  3. Locate the K7 kernel driver
    Check for the presence of K7 kernel driver files in C:\Windows\System32\drivers\ (typically named k7*.sys, for example K7AVSFT.sys or K7TSCommon.sys)
    Affected if A K7 driver file exists with a creation date or version prior to the fixed releases
  4. Verify if vulnerable driver is loaded
    Open Command Prompt and run 'sc query type= kernel' to list loaded kernel drivers, or use Autoruns (Sysinternals) to view kernel drivers and check if a K7 driver is loaded
    Affected if A K7 kernel driver is currently loaded and running on the system
  5. Check for IOCTL handler presence (advanced)
    Use the 'strings' utility or a hex editor to examine the K7 driver file for IOCTL codes 0x9500280C or 0x95002810 which are associated with the vulnerable write-what-where functionality
    Affected if The driver contains these specific IOCTL codes without proper validation routines

A system is affected if any K7 security product from the affected versions is installed and the vulnerable kernel driver is loaded, allowing an unprivileged user to escalate to SYSTEM privileges via unchecked IOCTL calls.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 14.2.0137 / 15.1.0.53 / 15.1.0297 or later
Fixed in 14.2.013715.1.0.5315.1.0297
Interim mitigation

Upgrade K7 Antivirus Premium to version 15.1.0.53 or later to obtain the patched driver. Organizations should verify the installed version across endpoints and ensure the update is applied promptly, as this is a local attack vector requiring prior user access.

Fix this in Antivirus Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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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-2017-16554 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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