Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2020-3341 is a denial-of-service flaw in ClamAV PDF parsing. A malicious PDF sent to a system that scans it with affected ClamAV versions could crash the scanning process. The disclosed impact is availability loss, not data theft or code execution.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority availability risk for systems that scan untrusted files. It does not appear to be a confidentiality breach from the supplied sources, but scanner outages can disrupt email, upload, or malware-detection workflows.
Technical view
The vulnerability affects ClamAV Software versions 0.101 through 0.102.2 in the PDF archive parsing module. The CVE describes improper input handling leading to a stack buffer overflow read and scanner process crash. CVSS 3.1 is 7.5, network exploitable, low complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, high availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where ClamAV scans untrusted PDFs, such as email gateways, file-upload workflows, document repositories, or automated malware scanning pipelines. Systems on versions 0.101 through 0.102.2, including distribution-packaged builds before their security updates, should be treated as potentially affected.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Public details say an unauthenticated remote attacker could send a crafted PDF to an affected scanner and crash the ClamAV scanning process. The described impact is denial of service only.
Researcher notes
The record identifies CWE-20 and a stack buffer overflow read in PDF parsing. The affected range is ClamAV 0.101 to 0.102.2. Evidence supports crash-based denial of service, but the supplied sources do not support claims of code execution or active exploitation.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade ClamAV to the vendor security-patched release, including 0.102.3 or later where applicable.
- Apply Debian, Fedora, or Ubuntu security updates for distribution-managed ClamAV packages.
- Check vendor guidance for appliances or products embedding ClamAV before assuming package-level remediation.
- Prioritize scanners processing external email attachments or public file uploads.
- Monitor scanner health after updating to confirm service stability.
Validation and detection
- Inventory ClamAV versions across servers, containers, appliances, and scanning workers.
- Confirm affected 0.101 through 0.102.2 deployments are upgraded or vendor-backported.
- Map workflows where untrusted PDFs are submitted for ClamAV scanning.
- Review scanner crash or restart logs around PDF-heavy ingestion paths.
- Verify distribution package changelogs reference CVE-2020-3341 or the relevant advisory.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-20: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2020-3341 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H3.93.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.5HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://blog.clamav.net/2020/05/clamav-01023-security-patch-released.htmlCVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_CISCO
- [debian-lts-announce] 20200519 [SECURITY] [DLA 2215-1] clamav security updateCVE reference · mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST
- FEDORA-2020-bca44487a1CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_FEDORA
- FEDORA-2020-d98d2cbae1CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_FEDORA
- FEDORA-2020-b0acd7b66eCVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_FEDORA
- USN-4370-1CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_UBUNTU
- USN-4370-2CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_UBUNTU
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Input Validation
Improper Input Validation represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.