CVE-2019-8453
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 · uneditedSome of the DLLs loaded by Check Point ZoneAlarm up to 15.4.062 are taken from directories where all users have write permissions. This can allow a local attacker to replace a DLL file with a malicious one and cause Denial of Service to the client.
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 confidenceCheck Point ZoneAlarm up to version 15.4.062 is vulnerable to DLL hijacking. The application loads dynamic-link libraries from directories where all users have write permissions, allowing a local unprivileged attacker to place a malicious DLL with the same name in those directories. When ZoneAlarm loads, it will inadvertently load the attacker-controlled DLL instead of the legitimate one, causing denial of service or potentially code execution.
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<= 15.4.062CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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 ZoneAlarm installation and versionOpen Programs and Features (appwiz.cpl) or check the installation directory for ZoneAlarm. Look for executable files such as 'ZoneAlarm.exe' or 'zaInst.exe' and note the installed version number.Affected if The installed version is 15.4.062 or lower.
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Locate the ZoneAlarm installation directoryRight-click the ZoneAlarm entry in Programs and Features, select Properties, and check the 'Install Location' path. Common paths include C:\Program Files\CheckPoint\ZoneAlarm or C:\Program Files\ZoneLabs\ZoneAlarm.Affected if The installation directory exists and contains ZoneAlarm executables.
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Verify directory permissions on the installation folderRight-click the ZoneAlarm installation folder, select Properties, go to the Security tab, and check which users or groups have Write or Modify permissions. Use 'icacls <folder>' from an elevated command prompt for detailed permission output.Affected if Users other than Administrators or SYSTEM have Write or Modify permissions on the ZoneAlarm installation directory.
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Check for DLL files in writable locationsExamine the ZoneAlarm installation directory for DLL files that could be planted by an attacker. List all .dll files and note their timestamps and ownership.Affected if Unexpected DLL files exist in the ZoneAlarm installation directory, especially those not part of a standard ZoneAlarm installation or with recent modification dates.
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Inspect DLL search order behaviorUse Process Monitor (from Sysinternals) with a filter for Process Name equals ZoneAlarm.exe and Operation equals CreateFile to observe which DLLs the application attempts to load and from which paths.Affected if ZoneAlarm attempts to load DLLs from directories with weak permissions or directories where non-admin users can write.
A user is affected if ZoneAlarm version 15.4.062 or lower is installed and the installation directory or a directory in its DLL search path is writable by non-privileged users, allowing potential DLL hijacking.
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 dataAdministrators should restrict write permissions on the ZoneAlarm installation directory to authorized administrators only. Users should avoid running ZoneAlarm with elevated privileges. The vendor should implement secure DLL loading practices using absolute paths, SetDllDirectory(), or manifest-based isolation.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-8453 — 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-2019-8453 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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