CVE-2018-5956
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 · uneditedIn Zillya! Antivirus 3.0.2230.0, the driver file (zef.sys) allows local users to cause a denial of service (BSOD) or possibly have unspecified other impact because of not validating input values from IOCtl 0x9C402414.
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 confidenceThe zef.sys kernel driver in Zillya! Antivirus 3.0.2230.0 fails to validate input parameters received through IOCTL code 0x9C402414, allowing local authenticated users to send specially crafted requests that trigger a kernel panic (BSOD) or potentially achieve arbitrary code execution in kernel context.
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= 3.0.2230.0CVSS 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
- 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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Verify Zillya! Antivirus installationCheck for Zillya! Antivirus in the list of installed programs. On Windows, this can be done via Control Panel > Programs and Features, or by querying the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ for DisplayName containing 'Zillya' or 'Zillya!'.Affected if Zillya! Antivirus is not installed, then the system is not affected by this specific CVE.
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Confirm exact version numberLocate the version information for the installed Zillya! Antivirus. This is typically found in the uninstall registry entry or in the product's About/Help section. Compare the installed version to 3.0.2230.0.Affected if The installed version is exactly 3.0.2230.0, the system matches the vulnerable version.
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Locate zef.sys kernel driverSearch for the zef.sys driver file on the system. Common locations include C:\Windows\System32\drivers\ or the Zillya! installation directory (usually in Program Files). Use File Explorer or command: dir /s C:\zef.sysAffected if The zef.sys driver file exists on the system.
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Check if zef.sys driver is loadedCheck if the zef.sys driver is currently loaded in memory. Use the command: sc query zef or driverquery /v | findstr zef. Also check HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\ for a zef service entry.Affected if The zef.sys driver is loaded or registered as a service, making the IOCTL vulnerability accessible.
A system is affected if Zillya! Antivirus version 3.0.2230.0 is installed AND the zef.sys kernel driver is present and potentially loaded, enabling the vulnerable IOCTL 0x9C402414 code path.
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 dataApply vendor patch when available; until then, restrict local user access to systems running this antivirus and consider disabling the vulnerable driver if possible.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-5956 — 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-2018-5956 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