AntivirusApplication · K7computing

CVE-2017-16556

MEDIUM · 5.5 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 →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
In K7 Antivirus Premium before 15.1.0.53, user-controlled input can be used to allow local users to write to arbitrary memory locations.

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 · moderate confidence

K7 Antivirus Premium before version 15.1.0.53 contains a vulnerability allowing local users to write to arbitrary memory locations through user-controlled input. This represents a local privilege escalation or memory corruption issue in the antivirus software itself.

MitigationUpgrade K7 Antivirus Premium to version 15.1.0.53 or later to address the arbitrary memory write vulnerability.

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
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

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 product
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features (or Settings > Apps on Windows 10/11) and look for any installed K7computing product such as K7 Antivirus Premium, K7 Endpoint, K7 Internet Security, K7 Total Security, or K7 Ultimate Security.
    Affected if No K7 product is listed in installed programs - not affected.
  2. Determine exact version number
    In Programs and Features, click on the K7 product name and view the version shown in the details pane, or right-click and select Properties to view the Version field in the Details tab.
    Affected if Version cannot be determined - further investigation needed.
  3. Compare Antivirus version to affected ranges
    If K7 Antivirus is installed, compare your version to: < 15.1.0.53 or < 15.1.0308. Note the full version number including the second number group (e.g., 15.1.0.53 vs 15.1.0308).
    Affected if Version is below 15.1.0.53 or below 15.1.0308 - affected.
  4. Compare Endpoint version to affected range
    If K7 Endpoint is installed, compare your version to < 14.2.0137.
    Affected if Version is below 14.2.0137 - affected.
  5. Compare Internet Security version to affected range
    If K7 Internet Security is installed, compare your version to < 15.1.0297.
    Affected if Version is below 15.1.0297 - affected.
  6. Compare Total/Ultimate Security versions to affected ranges
    If K7 Total Security or K7 Ultimate Security is installed, compare your version to: < 15.1.0324 or < 16.0.0131.
    Affected if Version is below 15.1.0324 or below 16.0.0131 - affected.

Your environment is affected only if a K7computing product is installed AND its version number falls below the specified threshold for that specific product.

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 address the arbitrary memory write vulnerability.

Fix this in Antivirus Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-16556 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2017-16556 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