CVE-2024-9483
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 null-pointer-dereference in the signature verification module in AVG/Avast Antivirus signature <24092400 released on 24/Sep/2024 on MacOS may allow a malformed xar file to crash the application during 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 · high confidenceA null-pointer-dereference vulnerability exists in the signature verification module of AVG/Avast Antivirus for MacOS. When processing a malformed xar (archive) file, the application crashes due to the null pointer dereference. This is a denial-of-service vulnerability affecting signature versions prior to 24092400, released 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 AVG or Avast Antivirus is installedOpen Finder, navigate to /Applications and check for AVG Antivirus or Avast Antivirus entries, or run 'ls /Applications | grep -i avg' or 'ls /Applications | grep -i avast' in TerminalAffected if Either AVG Antivirus or Avast Antivirus application is present in the Applications folder
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Locate the signature database versionOpen the AVG or Avast Antivirus application, then navigate to the main window and look for version information typically displayed in the menu under 'About' or 'Settings' > 'General' > 'About'. The signature database version is usually listed as 'Virus definitions' or 'Protection updates' with a numeric version numberAffected if The signature database version displayed is a number less than 24092400 (for example, 24091200 or any earlier version)
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Check the exact signature version via command lineOpen Terminal and run the following command to locate the version file: 'find /Applications -iname "*AVG*" -o -iname "*Avast*" | head -5' to find the app bundle, then inspect the Info.plist or version files within the application bundle, or check the product's update logs in ~/Library/Application\ Support/Affected if The discovered version number is below 24092400
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Verify signature update statusIn the antivirus application, check the 'Update' or 'Protection' status section. Look for the last successful update timestamp and the associated signature version number that was appliedAffected if The last signature update shows a version lower than 24092400, indicating the vulnerable signature set is still in use
A MacOS system with AVG or Avast Antivirus installed is affected if the signature database version is below 24092400, as the null-pointer-dereference vulnerability exists in the signature verification module for those earlier versions.
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
Update AVG/Avast Antivirus signature database to version 24092400 or later. Until the update is applied, avoid processing untrusted or malformed xar archive files.
AVG/Avast Antivirus for MacOS version 24092400 or later
- Open AVG or Avast Antivirus on your MacOS device
- Navigate to the application settings or help section
- Check for available updates and ensure the signature version is at least 24092400
- If an update is available, download and install it
- Verify the signature version after update by checking About/Version information
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-9483 — 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-2024-9483 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
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