# CVE-2012-1423: Security feature bypass in n/a

> Remote attackers can bypass malware detection in various antivirus products by crafting a POSIX TAR file with an initial MZ character sequence.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.3 (`AV:N/AC:M/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:** 21 Mar 2012
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-j8cw-3wc5-89wm

## What is CVE-2012-1423?

CVE-2012-1423 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 21 Mar 2012. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The TAR file parser in Command Antivirus 5.2.11.5, Emsisoft Anti-Malware 5.1.0.1, F-Prot Antivirus 4.6.2.117, Fortinet Antivirus 4.2.254.0, Ikarus Virus Utilities T3 Command Line Scanner 1.1.97.0, K7 AntiVirus 9.77.3565, NOD32 Antivirus 5795, Norman Antivirus 6.06.12, PC Tools AntiVirus 7.0.3.5, Rising Antivirus 22.83.00.03, and VirusBuster 13.6.151.0 allows remote attackers to bypass malware detection via a POSIX TAR file with an initial MZ character sequence. NOTE: this may later be SPLIT into multiple CVEs if additional information is published showing that the error occurred independently in different TAR parser implementations.

Weakness: CWE-264

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2012-1423?

It affects 11 products.


Products: Authentium Command Antivirus, Emsisoft Anti-Malware, Eset Nod32 Antivirus, F-Prot F-Prot Antivirus, Fortinet Fortinet Antivirus, Ikarus Ikarus Virus Utilities T3 Command Line Scanner, K7computing Antivirus, Norman Norman Antivirus \& Antispyware, Pc Tools Pc Tools Antivirus, Rising-Global Rising Antivirus, Virusbuster Virusbuster.

## How do I fix CVE-2012-1423?

No fix has been published for CVE-2012-1423 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2012-1423 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-1423 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2007-2917](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-2917/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2012-1420](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-1420/): Security feature bypass in n/a (medium 4.3)
- [CVE-2012-1426](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-1426/): Security feature bypass in n/a (medium 4.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2012-1423 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2012-1423 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 21 Mar 2012. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2012-1423 in the wild and no public exploit code.

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-2012-1423/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-1423/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2012-1423
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2012-1423
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2012-1423

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-1423/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.