# CVE-2017-5566: Code injection in n/a

> Local attackers can bypass self-protection to inject arbitrary code and take full control of AVG processes via a DoubleAgent attack.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.7 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 21 Mar 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-q77f-m2hw-66xj

## What is CVE-2017-5566?

CVE-2017-5566 is a medium-severity code injection vulnerability in n/a, published on 21 Mar 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Code injection vulnerability in AVG Ultimate 17.1 (and earlier), AVG Internet Security 17.1 (and earlier), and AVG AntiVirus FREE 17.1 (and earlier) allows a local attacker to bypass a self-protection mechanism, inject arbitrary code, and take full control of any AVG process via a "DoubleAgent" attack. One perspective on this issue is that (1) these products do not use the Protected Processes feature, and therefore an attacker can enter an arbitrary Application Verifier Provider DLL under Image File Execution Options in the registry; (2) the self-protection mechanism is intended to block all local processes (regardless of privileges) from modifying Image File Execution Options for these products; and (3) this mechanism can be bypassed by an attacker who temporarily renames Image File Execution Options during the attack.

Weakness: CWE-427 (Uncontrolled Search Path Element)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-5566?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Avg Anti-Virus, Avg Internet Security, Avg Ultimate.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-5566?

No fix has been published for CVE-2017-5566 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2017-5566 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-5566 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2017-9977](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-9977/): Security feature bypass in n/a (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2010-3498](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-3498/): Security feature bypass in n/a (medium 6.4)
- [CVE-2019-18654](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-18654/): Cross-site scripting in n/a (medium 6.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-5566 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-5566 is a medium-severity code injection vulnerability in n/a, published on 21 Mar 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-5566 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-2017-5566/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-5566/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-5566
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-5566
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-5566

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-5566/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.