# CVE-2022-20792: Memory corruption in Clam AntiVirus (ClamAV)

> A local attacker can trigger a heap buffer overflow in ClamAV by placing a crafted signature file, potentially achieving code execution or crashing the service.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 10 Aug 2022
- **Updated:** 1 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2022-20792, DEBIAN-CVE-2022-20792, GHSA-c59m-xfxc-m38p, UBUNTU-CVE-2022-20792

## What is CVE-2022-20792?

CVE-2022-20792 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Clamav Clamav, published on 10 Aug 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

A vulnerability in the regex module used by the signature database load module of Clam AntiVirus (ClamAV) versions 0.104.0 through 0.104.2 and LTS version 0.103.5 and prior versions could allow an authenticated, local attacker to crash ClamAV at database load time, and possibly gain code execution. The vulnerability is due to improper bounds checking that may result in a multi-byte heap buffer overwflow write. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by placing a crafted CDB ClamAV signature database file in the ClamAV database directory. An exploit could allow the attacker to run code as the clamav user.

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write), CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-20792?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Clamav Clamav.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-20792?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2022-20792 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-20792 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Clamav Clamav

- [CVE-2010-0098](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2010-0098/): Security feature bypass in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2009-1372](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-1372/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2008-3914](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-3914/): Denial of service in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2008-0728](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-0728/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2006-1615](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-1615/): Other in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-20792 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-20792 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Clamav Clamav, published on 10 Aug 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-20792 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Clamav Clamav. 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-2022-20792/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-20792/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-20792
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-20792
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-20792

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-20792/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.