What is CVE-2024-4978?

CVE-2024-4978 is Justice AV Solutions (JAVS) Viewer Installer Embedded Malicious Code Vulnerability. The supplied enrichment data classifies it as Unclassified mapped to CWE-506 CWE-506.

Which versions are affected?

Affected product and version evidence is listed in the product table above. Current public advisories should be checked for exact version scope before patch targeting is finalized.

Is there active exploitation?

Yes: CISA KEV signal present. If exploitation is not confirmed from current sources, teams should document that status and continue monitoring KEV, vendor, and telemetry updates.

Is there a public exploit?

A public PoC is not confirmed from current sources for CVE-2024-4978. Public exploit or PoC availability should raise triage priority, especially for exposed or business-critical systems.

How can defenders detect it?

Start with web/proxy/WAF logs, application logs, network IDS/IPS where available. Look for vulnerability-class behavior, product errors, suspicious authentication events, exploit probes, and abnormal process activity based only on evidence that applies to the affected product.

How should teams prioritize it?

Prioritize CVE-2024-4978 using CVSS 8.4, EPSS 27%, KEV status, public PoC status, and asset exposure. Internet-facing, privileged, or business-critical deployments should be handled first.

Are workarounds available?

The supplied mitigation guidance says to apply vendor patches and restrict external exposure until fixed. Fixed-version evidence is listed in the mitigation section above.

Which threat actors are linked publicly?

No public threat actor linkage is confirmed from current sources. Do not attribute exploitation to a threat actor unless the source evidence explicitly supports that linkage.

What should be done in the next 24 hours?

Identify exposed assets running affected vendor/product/version combinations. Treat as emergency remediation because CISA KEV status is present. Search available logs for exploit probes, errors, authentication anomalies, or suspicious child processes matching the vulnerability class. Open remediation tickets with affected assets, owners, evidence status, and detection coverage so decisions are traceable.

CISA KEVhigh

CVE-2024-4978

CVE-2024-4978 — Justice AV Solutions (JAVS) Viewer Installer Embedded Malicious Code Vulnerability

Q: Is it in CISA KEV?

Yes. The supplied enrichment data lists CVE-2024-4978 in CISA KEV with required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.. KEV status should be monitored because it can change after initial disclosure or after exploitation becomes publicly confirmed.

Justice AV Solutions Viewer Setup 8.3.7.250-1 contains a malicious binary when executed and is signed with an unexpected authenticode signature. A remote, privileged threat actor may exploit this vulnerability to execute of unauthorized PowerShell commands.

Published May 23, 2024Updated Jun 17, 2026Sources: NVD, CISA, FIRST EPSS

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the scoring sources call it.

Exploitation

Confirmed

CISA KEV, listed May 29, 2024

EPSS

27%

ahead of 98% of scored CVEs

Affects

Justice AV Solutions

Viewer

CVSS base

8.4

high

CISA SSVC assessment

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses · SSVC 2.0.3. A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

CISA

Exploitation

Active

none · proof-of-concept · active

Automatable

can an attacker script all four kill-chain steps

Technical impact

Total

partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

The vendor's own words where we have them.

Upgrade Viewer to a fixed release. Apply vendor patches per advisory and restrict external exposure of the affected component until patched.

CISA required action

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Federal deadline Jun 19, 2024 — passed 821 days ago

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record's own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found.

Identify exposed assets running affected vendor/product/version combinations.
Treat as emergency remediation because CISA KEV status is present.
Search available logs for exploit probes, errors, authentication anomalies, or suspicious child processes matching the vulnerability class.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and version as the advisories word them.

Vendor	Product	Versions	Status
Justice AV Solutions	Viewer	—	Vulnerable

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Availability

High

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Scope

Changed

Attack Complexity

Low

Attack Vector

Network

Privileges Req

High

User Interaction

Required

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

Score	Version	Severity	Expl.	Impact	Source
8.4	CVSS 3.1	high	1.7	6	CNA, NVD

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Weakness & attack patterns

CWE-506

Inferred from the weakness class — not observed against this CVE.

T1195.001Supply Chain Compromise: Compromise Software Dependencies and Development Tools
T1195.002Supply Chain Compromise: Compromise Software Supply Chain
T1027.009Obfuscated Files or Information: Embedded Payloads

CISA KEV details

CISA lists a CVE here once it has evidence of exploitation against real targets.

CISAThat month →

Listed

May 29, 2024

Federal deadline

Jun 19, 2024

passed 821 days ago

Ransomware use

Unknown

CISA records ransomware use only for campaigns it has confirmed, so “Unknown” means unrecorded, not ruled out. The deadline binds US federal agencies; for everyone else it is a date to argue against.

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not rules we have tested.

Prioritize edge telemetry for network-reachable Viewer .

web/proxy/WAF logsapplication logsnetwork IDS/IPS

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first — with the readings a source repeats on a schedule counted underneath rather than listed.

2026
Added · CVSS 3.1 8.4 (AV:N)
Jun 17, 2026 · NVD
2024
Added to CISA KEV catalog
May 29, 2024 · CISA
Initial · CVE published
May 23, 2024 · NVD

References

6 on the record

twitter.com/2RunJack2/status/1775052981966377148
Third Party Advisory
www.javs.com/downloads/
Broken Link, Product, Vendor Advisory
www.rapid7.com/blog/post/2024/05/23/cve-2024-4978-backdoored-justice-av-solutions-viewer-software-used-in-apparent-supply-chain-attack/
Exploit, Third Party Advisory
www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2024-4978
US Government Resource
www.rapid7.com/blog/post/2024/05/23/cve-2024-4978-backdoored-justice-av-solutions-viewer-software-used-in-apparent-supply-chain-attack#remediation
Vendor Advisory
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-4978
Vendor Advisory

Elsewhere on this site

Justice AV Solutionsevery CVE for this vendor
May 2024what else CISA listed
Unclassifiedsame class
CWE-506other pages naming this weakness

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record1

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2024-4978 is Justice AV Solutions (JAVS) Viewer Installer Embedded Malicious Code Vulnerability, a high vulnerability affecting Viewer from Justice AV Solutions. The current evidence lists it in CISA KEV, and the exploit status is: Yes: CISA KEV signal present. Public exploit evidence is: A public PoC is not confirmed from current sources for CVE-2024-4978. The affected-version evidence is listed in the key facts and affected products tables. Defenders should first verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run those versions, then apply vendor patches or mitigations, restrict reachable attack surface, and preserve logs for detection review. CVSS 8.4 describes technical severity, while EPSS 27% helps estimate near-term exploit likelihood; neither replaces asset context. Unknown fields should remain explicit in tickets, and threat actor, IOC, victimology, or payload claims should not be added unless a cited source supports them. Monitor CISA KEV, vendor advisories, NVD changes, public PoC repositories, and internal telemetry for update triggers.