CVE-2005-3232
Description
Multiple interpretation error in unspecified versions of TheHacker allows remote attackers to bypass virus detection via a malicious executable in a specially crafted RAR file with malformed central and local headers, which can still be opened by products such as Winrar and PowerZip, even though they are rejected as corrupted by Winzip and BitZipper.
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Affected products
1Patches
Vulnerability mechanics
Root cause
"Multiple interpretation error: TheHacker's RAR parser interprets malformed central and local headers differently than the archivers (Winrar, PowerZip) that actually extract the file, allowing a malicious executable to be embedded in a way the scanner treats as benign but the extractor treats as valid."
Attack vector
An attacker crafts a RAR archive with deliberately malformed central and local headers. TheHacker's virus scanner interprets the archive as clean (or fails to find the embedded payload) because its parser rejects or misreads the malformed headers. However, archivers such as Winrar and PowerZip still open and extract the file, delivering the malicious executable to the victim. The attack requires no special privileges — the victim only needs to open the crafted archive with a compatible extractor [ref_id=1].
Affected code
The advisory [ref_id=1] does not specify particular functions or file paths within TheHacker. The vulnerability lies in TheHacker's RAR archive parser, specifically in how it handles malformed central and local headers. No patch or source code is provided in the bundle.
What the fix does
No patch is provided in the bundle. The advisory [ref_id=1] does not describe a fix for TheHacker. The recommended remediation is for antivirus vendors to align their RAR parsing logic with the actual behavior of common extraction tools (Winrar, PowerZip) so that archives those tools can open are also scanned correctly. Without a parser that matches the extractor's tolerance for malformed headers, the bypass remains possible.
Preconditions
- configVictim must use TheHacker antivirus (the product with the interpretation error)
- inputVictim must open the crafted RAR with an extractor that tolerates malformed headers (e.g. Winrar, PowerZip)
- networkAttacker must be able to deliver the crafted RAR file to the victim (e.g. email, download)
Reproduction
1. Obtain the EICAR test file (eicar.com) as a benign virus test payload. 2. Create a RAR archive with malformed central and local headers such that Winrar and PowerZip still extract it but TheHacker's scanner does not detect the embedded content. 3. Submit the crafted archive to a multi-engine scanner (e.g. Jotti, VirusTotal) and observe that TheHacker reports "Found nothing" while the EICAR file is present after extraction [ref_id=1].
Generated on May 26, 2026. Inputs: CWE entries + fix-commit diffs from this CVE's patches. Citations validated against bundle.
References
2News mentions
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