CVE-2024-9481
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 · uneditedAn out-of-bounds write in the engine module in AVG/Avast Antivirus signature <24092400 released on 24/Sep/2024 on MacOS allows a malformed eml file to crash the application during file processing.
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 confidenceAn out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in the AVG/Avast Antivirus engine module on MacOS when processing malformed .eml (email) files. The vulnerability is triggered during file scanning operations, causing the application to crash due to memory corruption. The issue affects signature versions prior to 24092400 released on September 24, 2024.
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< 24092400< 24092400CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm macOS environmentVerify the operating system is macOS (e.g., System Settings > About, or 'uname -a' in terminal)Affected if The system is running macOS with AVG or Avast Antivirus installed
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Verify AVG or Avast Antivirus is installedCheck for AVG or Avast application in /Applications folder, or run 'ls /Applications | grep -i av' in terminalAffected if Either AVG Antivirus or Avast Antivirus is present on the system
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Check antivirus signature versionOpen AVG/Avast Antivirus UI, navigate to Settings > About, or check the version information displayed in the main window. Look for a signature or definition version number.Affected if The displayed signature/definition version is lower than 24092400 (e.g., 24091200, 24080100, etc.)
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Confirm file scanning is enabledIn the antivirus settings, verify that Real-time protection or File Shield scanning is enabled (this is typically enabled by default)Affected if File scanning is active or can be triggered on .eml files
If the system runs macOS with AVG or Avast Antivirus installed and the signature version is below 24092400, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2024-9481.
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 · scoped24092400
Users should update their AVG/Avast Antivirus installation to signature version 24092400 or later to receive the vendor patch. Organizations should ensure automatic updates are enabled and verify endpoint protection software is current.
Antivirus signature version 24092400 or later (released 24/Sep/2024)
- Open the AVG or Avast Antivirus application on your Mac
- Navigate to the 'Settings' or 'Preferences' section
- Look for 'Update' or 'Protection' settings
- Click 'Check for Updates' or enable automatic updates to ensure signature database is updated
- Verify the signature version is 24092400 or higher after the update completes
- Alternatively, manually trigger a signature update by selecting 'Update Now' in the Updates section
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-9481 — 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-2024-9481 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