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Nprotect AvsApplication · Inca

CVE-2018-6523

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-02-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.0.0.39 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
In nProtect AVS V4.0 before 4.0.0.39, the driver file (TKFsAv.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 0x22045c.

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

The nProtect AVS V4.0 kernel driver (TKFsAv.SYS) fails to validate input values received through IOCTL 0x22045c, allowing local authenticated users to send malicious requests that cause a kernel panic (BSOD) or potentially achieve code execution with kernel privileges.

MitigationUpgrade nProtect AVS V4.0 to version 4.0.0.39 or later to obtain the patched driver with proper input validation.

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
Nprotect AvsApplication
Affected:>= 4.0, < 4.0.0.39

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. Verify nProtect AVS is installed
    Check for nProtect AVS installation by searching for the product in Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall or by looking for the installation directory (typically in Program Files)
    Affected if nProtect AVS is found on the system
  2. Check installed nProtect AVS version
    Locate the installed version through the software's About/Version information in the Control Panel program list, or check the version resource of TKFsAv.SYS driver file if found
    Affected if Version is 4.0.x where x is less than 39 (versions 4.0.0.0 through 4.0.0.38)
  3. Locate TKFsAv.SYS driver file
    Search for TKFsAv.SYS file on the system - typically found in the nProtect AVS installation directory under a drivers or system folder
    Affected if TKFsAv.SYS file exists on the system and its file version is below 4.0.0.39
  4. Verify driver is loaded
    Check if TKFsAv.SYS is loaded as a kernel driver by running 'sc query TKFsAv' or checking Device Manager for hidden/system devices, or using 'driverquery' command
    Affected if The TKFsAv driver is currently loaded in memory

A system is affected if nProtect AVS version is 4.0.0.x where x is less than 39 AND the TKFsAv.SYS driver file exists on the system (regardless of whether it is currently loaded).

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 4.0.0.39 or later
Fixed in 4.0.0.39
Interim mitigation

Upgrade nProtect AVS V4.0 to version 4.0.0.39 or later to obtain the patched driver with proper input validation.

Fix this in Nprotect Avs Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.

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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-2018-6523 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