# CVE-2004-2442: Security feature bypass in n/a

> Remote attackers can bypass antivirus protection by sending compressed files with zeroed headers, allowing malicious content to reach the target system.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 20 Aug 2005
- **Updated:** 8 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-f4jg-33vh-vv4m

## What is CVE-2004-2442?

CVE-2004-2442 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 20 Aug 2005. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Multiple interpretation error in various F-Secure Anti-Virus products, including Workstation 5.43 and earlier, Windows Servers 5.50 and earlier, MIMEsweeper 5.50 and earlier, Anti-Virus for Linux Servers and Gateways 4.61 and earlier, and other products, allows remote attackers to bypass antivirus protection via a compressed file with both local and global headers set to zero, which does not prevent the compressed file from being opened on the target system.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2004-2442?

It affects 5 products.


Products: F-Secure F-Secure Anti-Virus, F-Secure F-Secure for Firewalls, F-Secure F-Secure Internet Security, F-Secure F-Secure Personal Express, F-Secure Internet Gatekeeper.

## How do I fix CVE-2004-2442?

No fix has been published for CVE-2004-2442 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2004-2442 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2004-2442 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Multiple AntiVirus - '.zip' Detection Bypass (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2007-2967](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-2967/): Denial of service in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2006-6409](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-6409/): Denial of service in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2007-3300](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-3300/): Security feature bypass in n/a (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2008-6085](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-6085/): Integer overflow in n/a (high 7.6)
- [CVE-2006-2838](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-2838/): Memory corruption in n/a (high 7.6)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2004-2442 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2004-2442 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 20 Aug 2005. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2004-2442 exists.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-2442/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-2442/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2004-2442
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2004-2442
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2004-2442

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-2442/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.