AntivirusApplication · Avast

CVE-2024-9484

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-10-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 24092400 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
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
An null-pointer-derefrence in the engine module in AVG/Avast Antivirus signature <24092400 released on 24/Sep/2024 on MacOS allows a malformed xar 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 · high confidence

A null-pointer-dereference vulnerability exists in the AVG/Avast Antivirus engine module for MacOS. When the antivirus scans a specially crafted malformed xar (eXtensible Archive Format) file, the engine attempts to dereference a null pointer, causing the application to crash. This issue affects signature versions prior to 24092400.

MitigationUpdate AVG/Avast Antivirus for MacOS to signature version 24092400 or later (released September 24, 2024) to patch the null-pointer-dereference in the engine module that triggers when processing malformed xar files.

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:< 24092400
AntivirusApplication
Affected:< 24092400

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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify AVG or Avast Antivirus for MacOS is installed
    Check the Applications folder for 'Avast Antivirus' or 'AVG Antivirus' applications, or run: ls /Applications | grep -i 'avast\|avg'
    Affected if Either Avast Antivirus or AVG Antivirus for MacOS is present on the system
  2. Locate the signature database version
    Open the AVG or Avast Antivirus application, navigate to Menu > Settings > General, and look for 'Program version' or 'Virus definitions' information. Alternatively, right-click the application icon and select 'Show Info' or check within the app's about window.
    Affected if Unable to locate version information indicates manual verification needed
  3. Compare installed signature version to 24092400
    In the application interface, locate the virus definition/signature version number displayed (format appears as a date-based number like 2409xxxx). Compare this numeric value to 24092400.
    Affected if The displayed signature version number is less than 24092400 (e.g., 24092300, 24080000, etc.)

If AVG or Avast Antivirus for MacOS is installed with a signature version below 24092400, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.

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 24092400 or later
Fixed in 24092400
Interim mitigation

Update AVG/Avast Antivirus for MacOS to signature version 24092400 or later (released September 24, 2024) to patch the null-pointer-dereference in the engine module that triggers when processing malformed xar files.

Recommended fix High confidence

Antivirus with signature version >= 24092400 (released 24/Sep/2024)

  1. Open AVG or Avast Antivirus application on macOS
  2. Navigate to the application settings or 'About' section to check the current signature/definition version
  3. Locate the 'Update' or 'Check for Updates' option in the application menu
  4. Run the update to obtain the latest virus definitions (signature version 24092400 or later released on 24/Sep/2024)
  5. Verify the signature version has been updated to 24092400 or higher after the update completes

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

Fix this in Antivirus Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-9484 — 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-2024-9484 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