Secure EndpointApplication · Cisco
CVE-2023-20212
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 AutoIt module of ClamAV could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition on an affected device. This vulnerability is due to a logic error in the memory management of an affected device. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by submitting a crafted AutoIt file to be scanned by ClamAV on the affected device. A successful exploit could allow the attacker to cause the ClamAV scanning process to restart unexpectedly, resulting in a DoS condition.
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 confidenceA logic error in the memory management of ClamAV's AutoIt module causes the scanning process to crash and restart when processing a specially crafted AutoIt file. This leads to a denial of service condition as the antivirus scanner becomes unavailable until the process restarts.
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
Secure EndpointApplication
< 8.1.7.21585
Secure Endpoint Private CloudApplication
< 3.8.0CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 the installed Cisco Secure Endpoint versionOpen the Cisco Secure Endpoint console and navigate to the About or Settings page to view the current version number, or run 'ampcli -v' from the command line if the agent is installed locallyAffected if The version displayed is less than 8.1.7.21585 for standard Cisco Secure Endpoint, or less than 3.8.0 for Cisco Secure Endpoint Private Cloud
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Confirm the deployment typeDetermine whether you are running the standard on-premises agent or the Private Cloud variant by checking the product name in the console or documentationAffected if Running Cisco Secure Endpoint Private Cloud version 3.8.0 or lower, or standard Cisco Secure Endpoint version below 8.1.7.21585
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Check if AutoIt scanning is enabledIn the Cisco Secure Endpoint console, navigate to Policies > Scanning settings and look for AutoIt script scanning or AutoIt module options. Alternatively, check the local configuration file for AutoIt-related scanning flagsAffected if AutoIt scanning is enabled and the version is within the affected range, as the vulnerability triggers specifically when processing AutoIt files
You are affected if running Cisco Secure Endpoint below version 8.1.7.21585 (or Private Cloud below 3.8.0) with AutoIt scanning functionality enabled.
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.
dbcve · scoped3.8.08.1.7.21585
Update ClamAV to the latest patched version that addresses this vulnerability. In the meantime, consider disabling AutoIt scanning or implementing rate-limiting on file submissions to reduce exposure.
Secure Endpoint: 8.1.7.21585 or later | Secure Endpoint Private Cloud: 3.8.0 or later
- For Cisco Secure Endpoint customers: Upgrade to version 8.1.7.21585 or later
- For Cisco Secure Endpoint Private Cloud customers: Upgrade to version 3.8.0 or later
- After upgrading, verify the ClamAV engine version matches the expected fixed version in the release notes
- Test the upgrade in a staging environment before deploying to production to ensure compatibility with existing workflows
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Secure Endpoint
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-20212 — 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-2023-20212 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
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