# CVE-2024-7233: Avast Free Antivirus AvastSvc Link Following Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

> Local attackers can escalate privileges to SYSTEM by exploiting a symbolic link flaw in the Avast Service to delete folders.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 22 Nov 2024
- **Updated:** 25 Nov 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-3mqp-f6x6-jj6x

## What is CVE-2024-7233?

CVE-2024-7233 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Avast Free Antivirus, published on 22 Nov 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Avast Free Antivirus AvastSvc Link Following Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows local attackers to escalate privileges on affected installations of Avast Free Antivirus. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability.

The specific flaw exists within the Avast Service. By creating a symbolic link, an attacker can abuse the service to delete a folder. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of SYSTEM. Was ZDI-CAN-23731.

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-7233?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Avast Free Antivirus.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-7233?

No fix has been published for CVE-2024-7233 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2024-7233 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-7233 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Avast Free Antivirus

- [CVE-2024-7227](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-7227/): Avast Free Antivirus AvastSvc Link Following Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2024-7232](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-7232/): Avast Free Antivirus AvastSvc Link Following Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2018-12572](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-12572/): Information disclosure in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2017-5567](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-5567/): Code injection in n/a (medium 6.7)
- [CVE-2024-7228](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-7228/): Avast Free Antivirus Link Following Denial-of-Service Vulnerability (medium 6.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2024-7233 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-7233 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Avast Free Antivirus, published on 22 Nov 2024. 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-2024-7233 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Avast Free Antivirus. 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-2024-7233/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-7233/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-7233
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-7233
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-7233

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-7233/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.