Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2020-3481 lets a remote, unauthenticated attacker crash affected ClamAV scanning by submitting a crafted EGG archive. The business impact is availability: malware scanning can be disrupted, which may delay or interrupt file, email, or gateway processing that depends on ClamAV.
Executive priority
Treat as a high-priority availability issue for externally exposed scanning workflows. It is not described as data theft or code execution, but scanner crashes can weaken security operations and disrupt dependent services.
Technical view
The flaw is a CWE-476 null pointer dereference in ClamAV's EGG archive parser affecting versions 0.102.0 through 0.102.3. CVSS 3.1 is 7.5, network reachable, low complexity, no privileges or user interaction, with high availability impact and no stated confidentiality or integrity impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where ClamAV 0.102.0-0.102.3 scans externally supplied files or archives. Systems using distribution-packaged ClamAV should be checked against their vendor security updates.
Exploitation context
The source bundle states exploitation requires a crafted EGG file and results in scanning process crash. CISA KEV is false, and the supplied sources do not state active exploitation in the wild.
Researcher notes
Focus validation on version exposure and EGG archive parsing paths. The evidence supports denial of service only. Do not claim active exploitation without separate KEV or source confirmation.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade ClamAV to 0.102.4 or later where applicable.
- Apply fixed ClamAV packages from the relevant Linux distribution advisory.
- Check vendor guidance for supported fixed versions in packaged environments.
- Prioritize scanners processing untrusted external files or archive attachments.
Validation and detection
- Inventory ClamAV versions and flag 0.102.0 through 0.102.3.
- Confirm distribution package versions match the relevant security advisory.
- Verify affected scanner services remain stable after update.
- Review recent scanner crash logs for archive parsing failures.
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-476: 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-2020-3481 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
- ClamAV 0.102.4 security patch releasedCVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_CISCO
- GLSA-202007-23CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_GENTOO
- USN-4435-1CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_UBUNTU
- FEDORA-2020-dd0c20d985CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_FEDORA
- USN-4435-2CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_UBUNTU
- FEDORA-2020-6584a641aeCVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_FEDORA
- [debian-lts-announce] 20200806 [SECURITY] [DLA 2314-1] clamav security updateCVE reference · mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST
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.
NULL Pointer Dereference
NULL Pointer Dereference represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.