# CVE-2023-1490: Max Secure Anti Virus Plus IoControlCode SDActMon.sys 0x220020 access control

> Local attackers can exploit improper access controls in the SDActMon.sys driver to escalate privileges on systems running Max Secure Anti Virus Plus.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L`)
- **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:** 18 Mar 2023
- **Updated:** 2 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-hjr9-qxfw-c33q

## What is CVE-2023-1490?

CVE-2023-1490 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Max Secure Anti Virus Plus, published on 18 Mar 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A vulnerability was found in Max Secure Anti Virus Plus 19.0.2.1 and classified as critical. Affected by this issue is the function 0x220020 in the library SDActMon.sys of the component IoControlCode Handler. The manipulation leads to improper access controls. An attack has to be approached locally. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used. The identifier of this vulnerability is VDB-223376.

Weakness: CWE-284 (Improper Access Control)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-1490?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Maxpcsecure Anti Virus Plus.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-1490?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-1490 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-1490 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-1490 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Max Secure Anti Virus Plus

- [CVE-2019-19382](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-19382/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2023-1492](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-1492/): Max Secure Anti Virus Plus IoControlCode MaxProc64.sys 0x220019 denial of service (medium 5.5)
- [CVE-2023-1493](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-1493/): Max Secure Anti Virus Plus IoControlCode MaxProctetor64.sys 0x220019 denial of service (medium 5.5)
- [CVE-2023-1491](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-1491/): Max Secure Anti Virus Plus IoControlCode MaxCryptMon.sys 0x220020 access control (medium 4.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-1490 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-1490 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in Max Secure Anti Virus Plus, published on 18 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-2023-1490 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Max Secure Anti Virus Plus. 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-2023-1490/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-1490/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-1490
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-1490
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-1490

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-1490/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.