CVE-2024-13990
What it is
MicroWorld eScan AV's update mechanism failed to ensure authenticity and integrity of updates: update packages were delivered and accepted without robust cryptographic verification. As a result, an on-path attacker could perform a man-in-the-middle (MitM) attack and substitute malicious update payloads for legitimate ones. The eScan AV client accepted these substituted packages and executed or loaded their components (including sideloaded DLLs and Java/installer payloads), enabling remote code execution on affected systems. MicroWorld eScan confirmed remediation of the update mechanism on 2023-07-31 but versioning details are unavailable. NOTE: MicroWorld eScan disputes the characterization in third-party reports, stating the issue relates to 2018–2019 and that controls were implemented then.
At a glance
- Exploitability
- Can be exploited over the network without logging in. High risk of data exposure, data tampering, service disruption.
- Exploit odds
- 0.6% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).
- Fix
- No patch or advisory is linked yet. Look at mitigations or restrict exposure.
Timeline
- ReservedThe CVE id was reserved by its CNA
- PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
- Last updatedMost recent change to the record
Why it ranks here
- Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
- Exploit odds: 0.6% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
- Severity: 9.3 CRITICAL (CVSS).
- Fix: none linked yet, which raises it.
Details
- Published
- Last modified
- Exploit probability
- 0.6% · EPSS, next 30 days
- Weakness
- CWE-295 · Improper certificate validation
- Record status
- Deferred
Attack profile CVSS 4.0 · 9.3
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
Is it in your code?
Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.
Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2024-13990.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2024-13990. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.
References
- https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/04/hackers-infect-users-of-antivirus-service-that-delivered-updates-over-http/
- https://blog.avast.com/leading-the-charge-against-guptiminer
- https://securityaffairs.com/162228/breaking-news/escan-antivirus-mitm-attack.html
- https://thehackernews.com/2024/04/escan-antivirus-update-mechanism.html
- https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/hackers-hijack-antivirus-updates-to-drop-guptiminer-malware/
- https://www.escanav.com/en/about-us/eScan-update-advisory.asp
- https://www.gendigital.com/blog/insights/research/guptiminer-hijacking-antivirus-updates-for-distributing-backdoors-and-casual-mining
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/microworld-escan-av-insecure-update-mechanism-allows-mitm-replacement-of-updates