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Client SecurityApplication · F Secure

CVE-2021-33597

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-08-05
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 Denial-of-Service (DoS) vulnerability was discovered in F-Secure Atlant whereby the SAVAPI component used in certain F-Secure products can crash while scanning fuzzed files. The exploit can be triggered remotely by an attacker. A successful attack will result in Denial-of-Service (DoS) of the Anti-Virus engine.

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

A Denial-of-Service vulnerability in F-Secure Atlant's SAVAPI component allows remote attackers to crash the Anti-Virus engine by providing specially crafted fuzzed files during scanning.

MitigationApply vendor-provided security updates for F-Secure Atlant and affected SAVAPI-based products; consider implementing additional file-type filtering or sandboxing as a compensating control until patches are applied.

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:all versions
Linux SecurityApplication
Affected:all versions
Business SuiteApplication
Affected:all versions
Elements Endpoint ProtectionApplication
Affected:all versions

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify installed F-Secure products
    Run command to list installed F-Secure packages: rpm -qa | grep -i f-secure (RHEL/CentOS), dpkg -l | grep -i f-secure (Debian/Ubuntu), or check Programs and Features in Windows Control Panel. Look for packages containing SAVAPI, Client Security, Linux Security, or Elements Endpoint Protection.
    Affected if Any F-Secure product from the Client Security, Linux Security, Business Suite, or Elements Endpoint Protection product lines is installed.
  2. Locate the SAVAPI component
    Check for SAVAPI library files - common paths include /opt/f-secure/savapi/, /usr/lib/f-secure/savapi/, or under the F-Secure installation directory on Windows (typically C:\Program Files\F-Secure\). Use find command or directory listing.
    Affected if The SAVAPI antivirus engine component is present on the system.
  3. Verify scanning services are active
    Check if F-Secure scanning services are running: systemctl status fsma (F-Secure Management Agent), fsspd (F-Secure Scanner Service), or savapd (SAVAPI daemon). On Windows, check if the F-Secure service is running in Services console.
    Affected if Any F-Secure scanning service (real-time or on-demand) is running and capable of scanning files.
  4. Confirm real-time scanning is enabled
    Check scanning configuration: on Linux, examine /etc/opt/f-secure/scanval/scanval.conf or use command line tool if available (fsav --version, f-secure vsutil). On Windows, check the F-Secure User Interface settings or registry for Real-time scanning status.
    Affected if Real-time scanning (also called on-access scanning or resident shield) is enabled, allowing the system to automatically scan files as they are accessed.

If any F-Secure SAVAPI-based product is installed with scanning capabilities enabled, the environment is affected by this DoS vulnerability since all versions of the listed products are vulnerable.

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

Apply vendor-provided security updates for F-Secure Atlant and affected SAVAPI-based products; consider implementing additional file-type filtering or sandboxing as a compensating control until patches are applied.

Fix this in Client Security Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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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-2021-33597 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