CVE-2008-6962: Avira AntiVir Premium, Premium Security Suite, AntiVir Professional, and AntiVir Personal - FREE allows local

Routine

HIGH 7.2DOWNGRADEMITIGATEMITIGATE

CVE-2008-6962 is a high-severity flaw (CVSS 7.2) affecting antivir, antivir personal, antivir professional. Below: why it ranks where it does, which versions are affected, what to do, and the exact commands.

Avira AntiVir Premium, Premium Security Suite, AntiVir Professional, and AntiVir Personal - FREE allows local users to execute arbitrary code via a crafted IOCTL request that overwrites a kernel pointer.

Why this priority

High severity

No fix is published yet: follow the downgrade or mitigation steps.

Risk facts

CVSS score	7.2 (High)
EPSS exploit chance	0.7% (top 49%)
CISA exploited list	No
Weakness	CWE-20
Published	2009-08-13
Last modified	2026-06-16

Publisher (CNA): MITRE · Vendor: avira

Last updated 2026-06-16 · Sources: CVE Program, NVD, CISA KEV, EPSS and vendor advisories · How we score

Am I affected?

Timeline

2009-08-13 16:30 UTCPublished CVE record published
2026-06-16 23:03 UTCUpdated Record last modified

avira antivir DOWNGRADE

Affected: all versions · 6.35.00.00

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 6.35.00.00

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy antivir || rpm -q antivir || antivir --version

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE to a release before 6.35.00.00 (Debian / Ubuntu)

apt-cache madison antivir sudo apt install antivir=<VERSION_BEFORE_6.35.00.00> sudo apt-mark hold antivir

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

dnf --showduplicates list antivir sudo dnf downgrade antivir-<VERSION_BEFORE_6.35.00.00> sudo dnf versionlock add antivir

Downgrade risk

Downgrading can break dependent software and may reopen older bugs. Read the distro advisory first and test on a non-production host.

After downgrade

Restart the service, and keep the package held until a fixed release ships.

avira antivir personal MITIGATE

Affected: all versions

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: no unaffected older release

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy antivir-personal || rpm -q antivir-personal || antivir-personal --version

No fixed or unaffected release known

Apply the vendor mitigation from the advisory, disable the affected feature, or restrict network access.

avira antivir professional MITIGATE

Affected: all versions

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: no unaffected older release

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy antivir-professional || rpm -q antivir-professional || antivir-professional --version

No fixed or unaffected release known

Apply the vendor mitigation from the advisory, disable the affected feature, or restrict network access.

avira antivir security suite MITIGATE

Affected: all versions

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: no unaffected older release

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy antivir-security-suite || rpm -q antivir-security-suite || antivir-security-suite --version

No fixed or unaffected release known

Apply the vendor mitigation from the advisory, disable the affected feature, or restrict network access.

Verify at the official source NVD · CVE Program · Report a problem with this page
Scores and fixes here are computed automatically from those and other public sources. Confirm with the vendor advisory before changing production systems.

Quick answers

How do I fix CVE-2008-6962?

antivir: downgrade or apply the listed mitigation; antivir personal: mitigate or apply the listed mitigation; antivir professional: mitigate or apply the listed mitigation. Exact commands for each OS are on this page.

Is CVE-2008-6962 being exploited?

CVE-2008-6962 is not on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list at the time of the last update. Check again, as this can change.

What does CVE-2008-6962 affect?

CVE-2008-6962 affects antivir, antivir personal, antivir professional. Severity is high (CVSS 7.2). Avira AntiVir Premium, Premium Security Suite, AntiVir Professional, and AntiVir Personal - FREE allows local users to execute arbitrary code via a crafted IOCTL request that overwrites a kernel pointer.

How urgent is CVE-2008-6962?

Priority 38/100. High severity

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References

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