CVE-2019-1786
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 · uneditedA vulnerability in the Portable Document Format (PDF) 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 (DoS) condition on an affected device. The vulnerability is due to a lack of proper data handling mechanisms within the device buffer while indexing remaining file data on an affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted PDF files to an affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause an out-of-bounds read condition, resulting in a crash that could result in a denial of service condition on an affected device.
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 confidenceOut-of-bounds read vulnerability in ClamAV's PDF scanning functionality (versions 0.101.0 and 0.101.1) due to improper buffer handling when indexing PDF file data. Crafted PDF files trigger the vulnerability, causing the antivirus to crash and result in denial of service.
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= 0.101.0= 0.101.1CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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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Identify installed ClamAV versionRun 'clamd --version' or 'clamscan --version' to obtain the exact version numberAffected if Version is exactly 0.101.0 or 0.101.1
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Verify PDF scanning is enabledCheck ClamAV configuration for PDF-related scanning or examine if the PDF scanning module is activeAffected if PDF scanning is enabled and version is 0.101.0 or 0.101.1
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Monitor for crashes during PDF processingReview system and ClamAV logs for crashes or abnormal terminations occurring during PDF file scanningAffected if Crashes are logged during PDF scanning and version is 0.101.0 or 0.101.1
Environment is affected if ClamAV version 0.101.0 or 0.101.1 is installed with PDF scanning functionality enabled, and the system has processed or may process PDF files
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 dataUpgrade ClamAV to version 0.101.2 or later, which contains the fix for proper buffer handling in PDF scanning. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, consider disabling PDF scanning or implementing additional input validation at network boundaries.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-1786 — 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-2019-1786 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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