CVE-2023-49570
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in Bitdefender Total Security's HTTPS scanning feature incorrectly trusts certificates that aren't authorized to issue certificates, even when marked as 'End Entity' in their Basic Constraints. This allows attackers to perform Man-in-the-Middle attacks, intercepting and potentially modifying encrypted web traffic. All users of affected Bitdefender Total Security versions with HTTPS scanning enabled are vulnerable.
💻 Affected Systems
- Bitdefender Total Security
📦 What is this software?
Total Security by Bitdefender
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers can intercept and modify all HTTPS traffic, including banking sessions, login credentials, and sensitive data transfers, leading to complete account compromise and data theft.
Likely Case
Targeted MITM attacks against specific users to steal credentials or session tokens from commonly visited websites.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if HTTPS scanning is disabled or if users avoid untrusted networks and websites.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires attacker to be in a position to intercept network traffic (e.g., same network).
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 27.0.30.146
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Bitdefender Total Security. 2. Click 'Update' in the main interface. 3. Allow the update to complete. 4. Restart your computer when prompted.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable HTTPS Scanning
windowsTemporarily disable the vulnerable HTTPS scanning feature until patching is possible.
Open Bitdefender → Protection → Online Threat Prevention → Disable 'Scan SSL'
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable HTTPS scanning feature in Bitdefender settings
- Use VPN for all internet traffic to encrypt connections at network layer
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Bitdefender version in the application interface. If version is below 27.0.30.146 and HTTPS scanning is enabled, the system is vulnerable.Check Version:
Not applicable - check version in Bitdefender GUI under 'About' sectionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify Bitdefender version is 27.0.30.146 or higher in the application interface.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual certificate validation failures in Bitdefender logs
- Multiple SSL/TLS connection resets
Network Indicators:
- Unexpected certificate authorities in HTTPS connections
- SSL/TLS handshake anomalies
SIEM Query:
Not applicable - primarily client-side vulnerability