Virex on-access scanning unreliable
Vulnerability:
The on-access scanner of McAfee Virex 7.7 for Mac is unreliable and fails the
EICAR test.
Using any webbrowser to download the EICAR testvirus from
http://www.eicar.org/anti_virus_test_file.htm will not trigger the Virex
on-access scanner and will not be noticed in most cases. If Virex does notice
and report it, it will never prevent it from being saved to disk, even if the
user tells Virex to delete the infected file.
Other scenarios where Virex on-access scanner fails might be possible.
Severity:
Moderate as long as Mac is not targeted by real viruses.
Fatal as soon as the first true virus epidemic for OS X appears.
McAfee notified 2006/02/17, denied responsability for the product and referred
to Apple.
Apple notified 2006/02/17, denied responsability for the issue and referred to
McAfee.
Published 2006/02/28 on Bugtraq.