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Client SecurityApplication · F Secure

CVE-2019-11644

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-05-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 12.01 / 14.10 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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 the F-Secure installer in F-Secure SAFE for Windows before 17.6, F-Secure Internet Security before 17.6, F-Secure Anti-Virus before 17.6, F-Secure Client Security Standard and Premium before 14.10, F-Secure PSB Workstation Security before 12.01, and F-Secure Computer Protection Standard and Premium before 19.3, a local user can escalate their privileges through a DLL hijacking attack against the installer. The installer writes the file rm.exe to C:\Windows\Temp and then executes it. The rm.exe process then attempts to load several DLLs from its current directory. Non-admin users are able to write to this folder, so an attacker can create a malicious C:\Windows\Temp\OLEACC.dll file. When an admin runs the installer, rm.exe will execute the attacker's DLL in an elevated security context.

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

A DLL hijacking vulnerability exists in F-Secure installer products (SAFE, Internet Security, Anti-Virus, Client Security, PSB Workstation Security, and Computer Protection). The installer writes rm.exe to C:\Windows\Temp and executes it. The rm.exe process then attempts to load OLEACC.dll from its current directory (C:\Windows\Temp). Since non-admin users can write to this directory, an attacker can place a malicious OLEACC.dll that will be loaded with elevated privileges when an administrator runs the installer.

MitigationUpdate F-Secure products to the fixed versions: SAFE/Internet Security/Anti-Virus to 17.6 or later, Client Security to 14.10 or later, PSB Workstation Security to 12.01 or later, and Computer Protection to 19.3 or later.

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
Client SecurityApplication
Affected:< 14.10
Computer ProtectionApplication
Affected:< 19.3
Internet SecurityApplication
Affected:< 17.6
Psb Workstation SecurityApplication
Affected:< 12.01
SafeApplication
Affected:< 17.6

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
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 F-Secure product
    Open Programs and Features in Control Panel or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | DisplayName' in PowerShell to list installed F-Secure products
    Affected if Any of the following products are installed: Client Security, Computer Protection, Internet Security, PSB Workstation Security, or Safe
  2. Check installed F-Secure version
    Open the F-Secure product GUI and look in About/Help section, or check registry key for the specific product (e.g., HKLM\Software\F-Secure\Product\Version)
    Affected if Version is below 14.10 for Client Security, below 19.3 for Computer Protection, below 17.6 for Internet Security/Safe/Anti-Virus, or below 12.01 for PSB Workstation Security
  3. Inspect C:\Windows\Temp for rm.exe
    Open C:\Windows\Temp in File Explorer or run 'Get-ChildItem C:\Windows\Temp\rm.exe' in PowerShell
    Affected if rm.exe exists in C:\Windows\Temp, indicating the installer was run and the vulnerable binary was placed
  4. Inspect C:\Windows\Temp for OLEACC.dll
    Run 'Get-ChildItem C:\Windows\Temp\OLEACC.dll' in PowerShell or check the directory in File Explorer
    Affected if OLEACC.dll exists in C:\Windows\Temp, which could indicate a hijacked DLL placed by an attacker
  5. Check if non-admin users can write to C:\Windows\Temp
    Review NTFS permissions on C:\Windows\Temp folder (right-click > Properties > Security tab) to verify Users group has Write permission
    Affected if Non-admin users have Write access to C:\Windows\Temp, which is required for the DLL hijacking to be exploitable

You are affected if you have any of the listed F-Secure products installed with a version below the fixed thresholds AND the C:\Windows\Temp directory contains rm.exe (indicating the installer was run)

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 12.01 / 14.10 / 17.6 or later
Fixed in 12.0114.1017.6
Interim mitigation

Update F-Secure products to the fixed versions: SAFE/Internet Security/Anti-Virus to 17.6 or later, Client Security to 14.10 or later, PSB Workstation Security to 12.01 or later, and Computer Protection to 19.3 or later.

Fix this in Client Security Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2019-11644 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