AntivirusApplication · Avast

CVE-2023-1585

MEDIUM · 6.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 22.11 or later.
See remediation →
65/100
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
Avast and AVG Antivirus for Windows were susceptible to a Time-of-check/Time-of-use (TOCTOU) vulnerability in the Quarantine process, leading to arbitrary file/directory deletion. The issue was fixed with Avast and AVG Antivirus version 22.11 and virus definitions from 14 February 2023 or later.

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

A Time-of-check/Time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition vulnerability exists in the Quarantine process of Avast and AVG Antivirus for Windows. The vulnerability allows an attacker to potentially delete arbitrary files or directories by exploiting the time gap between when the antivirus checks a file's safety and when it actually moves/quarantines the file.

MitigationUpdate Avast or AVG Antivirus for Windows to version 22.11 or later with virus definitions dated 14 February 2023 or later.

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
AntivirusApplication
Affected:>= 22.5, < 22.11
Anti VirusApplication
Affected:>= 22.5, < 22.11

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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. Identify installed antivirus product
    Open Programs and Features in Windows Control Panel or Settings > Apps & features to determine if Avast Antivirus or AVG AntiVirus is installed
    Affected if Either Avast Antivirus or AVG AntiVirus is present on the system
  2. Check Avast Antivirus version
    Right-click the Avast system tray icon, select 'About Avast', and note the version number displayed in the 'Version' field
    Affected if The installed version is 22.5 or higher but lower than 22.11
  3. Check AVG AntiVirus version
    Right-click the AVG system tray icon, select 'About AVG', and note the version number displayed in the 'Version' field
    Affected if The installed version is 22.5 or higher but lower than 22.11
  4. Verify virus definition date
    Open the Avast or AVG main interface, navigate to Settings > General > About, and check the virus definitions date
    Affected if Virus definitions are dated before 14 February 2023 (in combination with versions 22.5-22.10)

The system is affected if Avast Antivirus or AVG AntiVirus is installed with a version between 22.5 and 22.10 inclusive, regardless of virus definition date.

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 22.11 or later
Fixed in 22.11
Interim mitigation

Update Avast or AVG Antivirus for Windows to version 22.11 or later with virus definitions dated 14 February 2023 or later.

Recommended fix High confidence

Version 22.11 or later

  1. Check the current version of the Antivirus product (Help > About or similar)
  2. Upgrade the Antivirus software to version 22.11 or later
  3. Alternatively, ensure virus definitions are updated to version dated 14 February 2023 or later
  4. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the version number

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

Fix this in Antivirus Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-1585 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-1585 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