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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2024-7233: Avast Free Antivirus · Link Following

Affects Avast Free AntivirusSource CVE Database V5

0

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 09:15 UTC

CVSS 3.0 base score
7.8High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 32% 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:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 22 Nov 2024

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq 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

AI-suggested

1. Apply official patches or updates from Avast as soon as they become available to address CVE-2024-7233. 2. Until patches are released, restrict local user permissions to prevent unauthorized code execution or symbolic link creation, especially on systems running Avast Free Antivirus. 3. Implement application whitelisting and endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to monitor and block suspicious symbolic link creation or manipulation activities. 4. Regularly audit and monitor file system changes and Avast service logs for unusual behavior indicative of exploitation attempts. 5. Employ the principle of least privilege for all users and services to minimize the attack surface. 6. Educate users about the risks of executing untrusted code locally, as initial low-privileged code execution is a prerequisite for exploitation. 7. Consider deploying alternative antivirus solutions with no known similar vulnerabilities if patching is delayed. 8. Maintain comprehensive backups and incident response plans to quickly recover from potential compromises.

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.

References

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