CVE-2024-4978
CVE-2024-4978 is a security flaw in Justice AV Solutions Viewer. A tampered release of Justice AV Solutions Viewer was published with malicious code built in. The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) added it to its catalog of flaws known to be used in attacks on 29 May 2024.[1]
Justice AV Solutions Viewer is business software or equipment. Most families won’t have it, but attackers break into it to get inside companies, and from there to what those companies hold about their customers, patients and staff. Justice AV Solutions has published a fix or advice.
Description
CISA calls it a (JAVS) viewer installer embedded malicious code in Justice AV Solutions Viewer. In its words: “Justice AV Solutions (JAVS) Viewer installer contains a malicious version of ffmpeg.exe, named fffmpeg.exe (SHA256: 421a4ad2615941b177b6ec4ab5e239c14e62af2ab07c6df1741e2a62223223c4). When run, this creates a backdoor connection to a malicious C2 server.”[1]
The underlying weakness is CWE-506, in MITRE’s list of common software weaknesses.[2]
It scores 8.4 out of 10 on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System, which rates it high, scored by NVD using CVSS 3.1.[2]
Affected versions
NVD’s record doesn’t list version ranges for it; Justice AV Solutions’s advisory has them[3]. CISA names the product as Justice AV Solutions Viewer.
Most families won’t have Justice AV Solutions Viewer; it’s for whoever looks after IT at work.
Exploitation
CISA added it to its catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities on 29 May 2024, 6 days after it was made public. CISA lists a flaw only when it has reliable evidence of it being exploited, and gave US federal agencies until 19 Jun 2024 to fix it.[1]
FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System, which estimates how likely a flaw is to be used in attacks in the next 30 days from what it sees across the internet, puts it at 27%. That’s in the top 2% of the flaws it scores.[4]
CISA assesses it as not automatable: each attack takes some work.
CISA doesn’t say who was attacked, or how.
Fix
Justice AV Solutions has published a fix or advice.[3] CISA’s required action: “Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.”[1]
- Check whether you use it.Justice AV Solutions Viewer is business software or equipment, so most families won’t have it. If you run a business, or work from home on company equipment, ask whoever looks after your IT.
- Send this page to your IT person.Ask them to confirm it’s fixed, or not in use. CISA gave US government agencies until 19 Jun 2024 to fix it.
- If it can’t be fixed, take it offline.CISA’s advice when there’s no fix is to stop using the product, or take it off the internet, until there is one.
You can’t fix someone else’s server, but you can watch for what follows a break-in like this: a breach notice, a password reset you didn’t ask for, or a scam message that knows things it shouldn’t. HARD watches for those for you and your family.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| The flaw is made public in the National Vulnerability Database, with a severity score of 8.4.[2] | |
| CISA adds it to its catalog of flaws known to be used in attacks.[1] | |
| CISA’s deadline for US government agencies to fix it.[1] | |
| FIRST puts the odds of it being used in attacks in the next 30 days at 27%.[4] |
See also
Similar flaws
- CVE-2026-8398, Daemon Tools Lite: tools lite embedded malicious code ·
- CVE-2026-48027, Nx Console: console embedded malicious code ·
- CVE-2026-45321, TanStack: unspecified ·
- CVE-2026-33634, Aquasecurity Trivy: embedded malicious code ·
- CVE-2025-54313, Prettier eslint-config-prettier: embedded malicious code ·
References
- ^ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. “Justice AV Solutions (JAVS) Viewer Installer Embedded Malicious Code Vulnerability”. Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, added 29 May 2024.
- ^ National Institute of Standards and Technology. “CVE-2024-4978 Detail”. National Vulnerability Database, published 23 May 2024.
- ^ Justice AV Solutions. Advisories and fixes: rapid7.com, javs.com.
- ^ FIRST. “Exploit Prediction Scoring System”. EPSS 0.269, percentile 98.0, 31 Oct 2026.
- CVE Program. “CVE-2024-4978”. The official CVE record.
This article is built from CISA’s catalog (version 2026.10.30), NVD’s record and FIRST’s scores, kept in HARD’s database and checked every morning. The plain English is HARD’s.