CVE-2023-42124
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 · uneditedAvast Premium Security Sandbox Protection Incorrect Authorization Privilege Escalation Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows local attackers to escalate privileges on affected installations of Avast Premium Security. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the implementation of the sandbox feature. The issue results from incorrect authorization. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code outside the sandbox at medium integrity. . Was ZDI-CAN-20178.
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 confidenceAvast Premium Security contains an incorrect authorization vulnerability in its Sandbox Protection feature. An attacker with the ability to execute low-privileged code can exploit this flaw to escape the sandbox containment and execute arbitrary code at medium integrity level outside the sandbox.
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= 22.12.6044CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm Avast Premium Security is installedOpen Programs and Features (appwiz.cpl) or check C:\Program Files\Avast for the Avast Premium Security directory and executableAffected if Avast Premium Security is present on the system
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Check the installed version numberRight-click the Avast icon in system tray, select 'About Avast', or open Avast UI and navigate to Menu > Settings > About. Record the exact version shown (format typically shows as 22.12.6044 or similar)Affected if Version equals exactly 22.12.6044 (no other versions are listed as affected in this CVE)
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Verify Sandbox Protection feature statusOpen Avast Premium Security UI, navigate to Protection > Sandbox. Check if the sandbox is enabled or if any sandbox profiles/policies are activeAffected if Sandbox Protection feature is turned ON or a sandbox profile is configured/enabled
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Check for recent sandbox activity logsOpen Avast UI > Protection > Sandbox > View History, or check Windows Event Viewer under Application logs for Avast sandbox eventsAffected if Sandbox has been used recently, indicating active protection which could be vulnerable to escape attempts
You are affected only if Avast Premium Security version 22.12.6044 is installed AND the Sandbox Protection feature is enabled or configured on your system.
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 dataApply the vendor-supplied patch for Avast Premium Security to address the sandbox authorization vulnerability. Ensure sandbox functionality is tested after patching to confirm the fix does not introduce regressions.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing5.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,752.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-42124 — 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-2023-42124 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data