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ClamavApplication

CVE-2019-1785

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-04-08
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
A vulnerability in the RAR file scanning functionality of Clam AntiVirus (ClamAV) Software versions 0.101.1 and 0.101.0 could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service condition on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to a lack of proper error-handling mechanisms when processing nested RAR files sent to an affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted RAR file to an affected device. An exploit could allow the attacker to view or create arbitrary files on the targeted system.

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

ClamAV versions 0.101.0 and 0.101.1 contain a vulnerability in the RAR file scanning engine due to improper error handling when processing nested RAR files. An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this by sending a crafted nested RAR file, potentially achieving arbitrary file read/write on the targeted system.

MitigationUpdate ClamAV to a version beyond 0.101.1 where the vulnerability is patched. If immediate patching is not feasible, consider disabling RAR scanning capabilities as a temporary workaround.

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
ClamavApplication
Affected:= 0.101.0= 0.101.1

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:3.1/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. Check installed ClamAV version
    Run `clamd --version` or `clamscan --version` to determine the exact version of ClamAV installed on the system
    Affected if The version is 0.101.0 or 0.101.1 exactly, as these are the only affected versions listed for this CVE
  2. Verify RAR scanning support is present
    Check for the presence of RAR scanning libraries or unrar by running `ldd $(which clamscan) 2>/dev/null | grep -i rar` or checking if RAR-related files exist in /usr/lib/clamav or similar directories
    Affected if RAR support libraries (libclamunrar or libclamunrar_iface) are loaded by ClamAV, meaning the RAR scanning engine is available on the system
  3. Confirm RAR file scanning is enabled in configuration
    Inspect the ClamAV configuration files (typically /etc/clamd.conf or /etc/clamav/clamd.conf) for directives related to RAR scanning such as `ScanRAR` or similar RAR-enabling options
    Affected if RAR scanning is explicitly enabled in the configuration file, indicating the vulnerable RAR scanning engine would be invoked when processing RAR files
  4. Test if the system processes RAR files
    Attempt to scan a benign RAR file with `clamscan --scan-archive /path/to/test.rar` to confirm RAR parsing is active, or check recent clamscan/clamd logs for RAR-related scan activity
    Affected if The system successfully processes and scans RAR files, meaning it would invoke the vulnerable RAR scanning code path

A system is affected only if it runs ClamAV version 0.101.0 or 0.101.1 AND has RAR scanning support enabled and processes RAR files, as the vulnerability resides specifically in the RAR scanning engine's handling of nested RAR files.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update ClamAV to a version beyond 0.101.1 where the vulnerability is patched. If immediate patching is not feasible, consider disabling RAR scanning capabilities as a temporary workaround.

Fix this in Clamav Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,340
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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-2019-1785 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