CVE-2024-7227: Avast Free Antivirus · Link Following
Affects Avast Free AntivirusSource CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 09:15 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 28% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 22 Nov 2024
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| Avast Free Antivirus | Affected
| Fixed in– |
AI-suggested
To mitigate CVE-2024-7227, organizations should: 1) Monitor Avast's official channels for patches or updates addressing this vulnerability and apply them promptly once available. 2) Restrict local user permissions to the minimum necessary, preventing unauthorized code execution at low privilege levels. 3) Employ application whitelisting and endpoint protection solutions to detect and block suspicious symbolic link creation or manipulation activities. 4) Audit and monitor file system changes and symbolic link creations on systems running Avast Free Antivirus to detect potential exploitation attempts. 5) Consider temporarily disabling or uninstalling the affected Avast Free Antivirus version in high-risk environments until a patch is applied. 6) Educate users about the risks of running untrusted code locally and enforce strict controls on software installation and execution. 7) Use Windows security features such as Controlled Folder Access and User Account Control (UAC) to limit the impact of local privilege escalation attempts. These measures, combined with timely patching, will reduce the attack surface and limit the potential for exploitation.
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 file. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of SYSTEM. Was ZDI-CAN-22272.