# CVE-2023-1446: Watchdog Anti-Virus IoControlCode wsdk-driver.sys 0x80002008 denial of service

> A local attacker can cause a denial of service in Watchdog Anti-Virus by exploiting a null pointer dereference in the kernel driver.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 17 Mar 2023
- **Updated:** 2 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-4x92-r8v7-j2m9

## What is CVE-2023-1446?

CVE-2023-1446 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Watchdog Anti-Virus, published on 17 Mar 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability classified as problematic was found in Watchdog Anti-Virus 1.4.214.0. Affected by this vulnerability is the function 0x80002004/0x80002008 in the library wsdk-driver.sys of the component IoControlCode Handler. The manipulation leads to denial of service. An attack has to be approached locally. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used. The associated identifier of this vulnerability is VDB-223291.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference), CWE-404 (Improper Resource Shutdown or Release)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-1446?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Watchdog Anti-Virus.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-1446?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-1446 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-1446 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-1446 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Watchdog Anti-Virus

- [CVE-2022-38611](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-38611/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2022-42045](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-42045/): Code injection in n/a (medium 6.7)
- [CVE-2022-38582](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-38582/): Missing authorization in n/a (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2023-1453](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-1453/): Watchdog Anti-Virus IoControlCode wsdk-driver.sys 0x80002008 access control (medium 4.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-1446 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-1446 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Watchdog Anti-Virus, published on 17 Mar 2023. 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-2023-1446 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Watchdog Anti-Virus. 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-2023-1446/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-1446/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-1446
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-1446
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-1446

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-1446/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.