📖 ~4 min read • Source: SUSE advisory SUSE-SU-2023:0453-1 (see also SUSE bugzilla)
Related CVEs: CVE-2023-20032 CVE-2010-1205 CVE-2025-20260 CVE-2024-20505 CVE-2024-20380 CVE-2023-40477 CVE-2023-20197 CVE-2022-20771 +12 more
Upstream summary: On Feb 15, 2023, the following vulnerability in the ClamAV scanning library was disclosed: A vulnerability in the HFS+ partition file parser of ClamAV versions 1.0.0 and earlier, 0.105.1 and earlier, and 0.103.7 and earlier could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to execute arbitrary code. This vulnerability is due to a missing buffer size check that may result in a heap buffer overflow write. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by submitting a crafted HFS+ p
Table of contents
Symptom & Impact
On SLES 15 hosts running clamav, administrators report behaviour consistent with SUSE advisory SUSE-SU-2023:0453-1: zypper refusing to install or restart affected services, AppArmor profile warnings in journalctl, and — for security-rated advisories — exposure to the vulnerability set above. In production estates the visible impact ranges from a single service restart to wider availability incidents whenever clamav sits on the serving path.
Environment & Reproduction
Reproduction targets SLES 15. Confirm release with cat /etc/os-release and SUSEConnect --status-text, and the currently installed package with rpm -q clamav. Capture system state with supportconfig -R /var/tmp -B clamav if you need to attach evidence to a SUSE support case. Trigger the workflow that exposes clamav — multiple vulnerabilities (20 CVEs) — patch and remediation guide while collecting journalctl -b, zypper history, and rpm -qa output.
Root Cause Analysis
Root cause is documented in SUSE advisory SUSE-SU-2023:0453-1. Upstream maintainers shipped fixes in the corresponding clamav update for SLES 15; running an outdated build leaves the host exposed to the failure modes described in the advisory. Correlate journalctl --since timestamps with zypper history entries and any AppArmor denials in /var/log/audit/audit.log to isolate the originating change.
Quick Triage
Quick triage: run systemctl status clamav, journalctl -u clamav -n 200, zypper patch-check, zypper lp, firewall-cmd --list-all, and aa-status. If AppArmor is in enforce mode, capture journalctl -k | grep apparmor to surface denials linked to clamav — multiple vulnerabilities (20 CVEs) — patch and remediation guide.
Step-by-Step Diagnosis
1) Confirm symptom with systemctl --failed. 2) Inspect logs: journalctl -xe and journalctl -u clamav. 3) Validate firewall: firewall-cmd --list-all-zones. 4) Check AppArmor: aa-status and journalctl -k | grep apparmor. 5) Verify package integrity: rpm -V clamav and zypper verify. 6) Correlate findings with zypper history, /var/log/zypp/history, and SUSE advisory SUSE-SU-2023:0453-1 to pin the change that introduced clamav — multiple vulnerabilities (20 CVEs) — patch and remediation guide.
Solution – Primary Fix
Primary fix for clamav — multiple vulnerabilities (20 CVEs) — patch and remediation guide: apply the corrective zypper transaction described in SUSE advisory SUSE-SU-2023:0453-1, reload the affected systemd unit, and reconcile firewalld and AppArmor state. Typical commands: sudo zypper ref, sudo zypper -n patch or sudo zypper -n update clamav, sudo systemctl daemon-reload, sudo systemctl restart clamav, then rpm -q clamav to validate the new build is installed. For kernel advisories add sudo systemctl reboot or schedule a Live Patch (kgraft/klp) where covered by your SUSE subscription.
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Solution – Alternative Approaches
Alternatives include rolling back the offending transaction with sudo zypper history --rollback <id> (Btrfs Snapper snapshots make this safe on SLES 15), locking the package via sudo zypper al clamav, switching firewalld backends between nftables and iptables in /etc/firewalld/firewalld.conf, or temporarily disabling the AppArmor profile with sudo aa-disable /etc/apparmor.d/usr.sbin.clamav to confirm policy is the cause before authoring a custom profile. Where Live Patching is licensed, klp patches applies kernel fixes without reboot.
Verification & Acceptance Criteria
Acceptance: rpm -q clamav shows the expected fixed version, systemctl is-active clamav returns active, journalctl -u clamav --since "5 minutes ago" shows no errors, zypper patch-check reports zero open patches for this advisory, firewall-cmd --list-services includes the required services, aa-status reports the intended profile mode, and the original reproduction steps for clamav — multiple vulnerabilities (20 CVEs) — patch and remediation guide no longer trigger the failure across two consecutive runs.
Rollback Plan
Capture state with zypper history list, snapper list, and rpm -qa > /root/rpm-pre.txt before any change. To revert, run sudo snapper undochange <pre>..<post> on Btrfs deployments or sudo zypper install --oldpackage clamav-<old-version> and reload systemctl daemon-reload. Remove custom AppArmor profiles with sudo apparmor_parser -R. Reboot if the kernel or initramfs was changed and re-verify symptoms.
Prevention & Hardening
Prevent recurrence by enabling automatic security patches with zypper-automatic or YaST > Online Update Configuration, subscribing to the SUSE-SU mailing list, mirroring through SUSE Manager / RMT for controlled rollouts, version-locking sensitive packages with zypper al, and monitoring file integrity with aide --check. Apply CIS SLES 15 hardening, enable Snapper rollbacks on Btrfs root, and where supported enable SUSE Live Patching so future advisories like this can be remediated without reboot.
Related Errors & Cross-Refs
Related issues that commonly surface alongside clamav — multiple vulnerabilities (20 CVEs) — patch and remediation guide: zypper transaction lock contention, systemd unit ordering cycles, AppArmor denials in journalctl -k, firewalld zone drift, and kernel taint flags shown by cat /proc/sys/kernel/tainted. See sibling common-problem articles in this SLES 15 series for adjacent failure modes.
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References & Further Reading
Primary reference: SUSE advisory SUSE-SU-2023:0453-1 (see also SUSE bugzilla). Supporting docs: SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Administration Guide, man zypper, man systemctl, man firewall-cmd, man aa-status, man snapper, man journalctl, the SUSE patch finder at suse.com/patches/, and the SUSE Live Patching documentation. Review /usr/share/doc/packages/clamav/ for component-level notes implicated in clamav — multiple vulnerabilities (20 CVEs) — patch and remediation guide.
