Anti VirusApplication · Kaspersky

CVE-2021-27223

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-04-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2021-06 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

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 denial-of-service issue existed in one of modules that was incorporated in Kaspersky Anti-Virus products for home and Kaspersky Endpoint Security. A local user could cause Windows crash by running a specially crafted binary module. The fix was delivered automatically. Credits: (Straghkov Denis, Kurmangaleev Shamil, Fedotov Andrey, Kuts Daniil, Mishechkin Maxim, Akolzin Vitaliy) @ ISPRAS

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 · moderate confidence

This is a local denial-of-service vulnerability in Kaspersky Anti-Virus products (home and endpoint). A local authenticated user can cause a Windows crash by executing a specially crafted binary module, triggering a fault in one of the incorporated AV modules.

MitigationKaspersky delivered an automatic update to address this vulnerability. Organizations should verify that endpoint protection clients have received and applied the latest signature/engine updates, and ensure Windows crash dump collections are reviewed to detect any exploitation attempts.

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
Anti VirusApplication
Affected:< 2021-06
Endpoint SecurityApplication
Affected:< 2021-06
Internet SecurityApplication
Affected:< 2021-06
Security CloudApplication
Affected:< 2021-06
Small Office SecurityApplication
Affected:< 2021-06
Total SecurityApplication
Affected:< 2021-06

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

CVSS:3.1/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Kaspersky product
    Open Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion' in PowerShell to list installed software. Look for Kaspersky Anti-Virus, Kaspersky Endpoint Security, Kaspersky Internet Security, Kaspersky Security Cloud, Kaspersky Small Office Security, or Kaspersky Total Security.
    Affected if No Kaspersky product is found in the installed programs list, then this CVE does not apply to the system.
  2. Check installed product version
    Right-click the Kaspersky icon in the system tray and select 'About', or open the Kaspersky application and navigate to Help > About. Record the full version number and build date.
    Affected if The version number is not displayed or cannot be determined, manual verification of the installed files may be required.
  3. Compare version against vulnerability threshold
    Verify if the installed version is below the 2021-06 release. The affected versions are any build or version released before June 2021. Compare your recorded version and build date from the previous step against the June 2021 cutoff.
    Affected if The installed version is a build released before June 2021, indicating the system is within the affected version range.
  4. Confirm product edition type
    Determine whether the installed product is a home user product (Anti-Virus, Internet Security, Total Security, Security Cloud, Small Office Security) or an enterprise product (Endpoint Security). This confirms the product matches one of the listed affected variants.
    Affected if The installed product matches one of the home or endpoint products listed in the affected products, and the version is below 2021-06.
  5. Review Windows crash dumps
    Check for crash dump files in C:\Windows\Minidump or C:\Windows\MEMORY.DMP. Also review Windows Event Viewer under Windows Logs > System for Event ID 1001 (Bugcheck) or Application Error events occurring around the time of the suspected incident.
    Affected if Crash dumps exist and reference Kaspersky AV modules in the stack trace or error details, this may indicate exploitation of this vulnerability.

A system is affected if it runs any of the listed Kaspersky products with a version released before June 2021, and a local authenticated user has executed a specially crafted binary that triggered the AV module crash.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2021-06 or later
Fixed in 2021-06
Interim mitigation

Kaspersky delivered an automatic update to address this vulnerability. Organizations should verify that endpoint protection clients have received and applied the latest signature/engine updates, and ensure Windows crash dump collections are reviewed to detect any exploitation attempts.

Recommended fix High confidence

Kaspersky products 2021-06 or later (Anti Virus 2021-06+, Endpoint Security 2021-06+, Internet Security 2021-06+, Security Cloud 2021-06+, Small Office Security 2021-06+, Total Security 2021-06+)

  1. Upgrade to Kaspersky product version 2021-06 or later. The fix was delivered automatically via Kaspersky's update infrastructure, but if affected, ensure automatic updates are enabled and allow the product to update to the June 2021 release or subsequent versions.
  2. Verify the installed version by opening the main product window and checking the version number in About or Settings.
  3. Confirm the version is 2021-06 or higher (e.g., 2021-06-xx or later releases).
  4. If automatic updates are disabled, enable them in Settings > Protection > Updates, or manually trigger an update to receive the patched version.

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Anti Virus Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2021-27223 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