CVE-2018-6524
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 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 0x220c20.
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 confidencenProtect AVS V4.0 kernel-mode driver (TKFsAv.SYS) fails to validate input values when processing IOCTL code 0x220c20, allowing local authenticated users to send specially crafted requests that cause a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) and potential 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>= 4.0, < 4.0.0.39CVSS 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 nProtect AVS is installedLook for nProtect AVS in the list of installed programs via Control Panel > Programs and Features, or query the registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ for entries containing 'nProtect' or 'Avs'Affected if nProtect AVS appears in installed programs list
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Identify the installed nProtect AVS versionOpen Programs and Features, find nProtect AVS, and note the version column; alternatively, check the file version of TKFsAv.SYS in the driver directory (typically C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\ or the application install path) by right-clicking the file and selecting Properties > DetailsAffected if Version is 4.0.x where x is less than 39, or version starts with 4.0 but is earlier than 4.0.0.39
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Verify the driver file version of TKFsAv.SYSLocate TKFsAv.SYS on the system, right-click > Properties > Details to view File Version; if the file exists but version cannot be determined, the driver may still be present and vulnerableAffected if TKFsAv.SYS file version is present and less than 4.0.0.39
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Confirm the driver is loaded in kernel memoryOpen Command Prompt as Administrator and run 'sc query TKFsAv' or 'driverquery /v | findstr -i TKFsAv' to check if the driver service is registered and runningAffected if Driver service exists and shows as running or started, indicating the vulnerable code is active
If nProtect AVS version is 4.0 through 4.0.0.38 and the TKFsAv.SYS driver is loaded, the system is vulnerable to CVE-2018-6524.
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 data4.0.0.39
Update nProtect AVS to version 4.0.0.39 or later to obtain the patched driver with proper input validation. Prioritize patching on endpoints with the affected software installed.
- Consultation2.0 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-2018-6524 — 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-2018-6524 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
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