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Comparison · Infra & APIs

ClamAV vs Volatility

A side-by-side editorial comparison of ClamAV and Volatility — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

ClamAV vs Volatility: at a glance

FeatureClamAVVolatility
SectorInfra & APIsInfra & APIs
Velocity score0.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesantivirus, cve patches, file parsers, dual branchmemory-forensics, plugin-taxonomy, linux-coverage, structured-output
Last editorial update2h ago1h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is ClamAV?

ClamAV's file parsers keep yielding CVEs — and every fix ships twice, to two branches.

ClamAV runs two supported lines, 1.5.x and 1.4.x, and publishes identical patch releases seconds apart whenever a vulnerability lands. The recurring source is the same: file format parsers. The July pair fixed a PESpin unpacker use-after-free and an integer overflow in PE rebuild size calculations; the March pair fixed an HTML parser error-handling crash and a JPEG scanning hang inherited from a Rust image dependency. One of the July issues reaches back to code from 2005.

Read the full ClamAV trajectory →

What is Volatility?

Volatility 3 caught up with Volatility 2, then started reorganising itself.

The 2.26.0 release was explicitly aimed at functional parity with the archived Volatility 2, landing around twenty plugins at once across Linux, macOS and Windows. Since then the work has shifted from filling gaps to structuring what exists: malware-specific plugins moved under a malware namespace with the old names deprecated, an arrow/parquet output renderer added, volshell given breakpoints, and per-release additions like sockscan, process_spoofing, pebmasquerade and etwpatch.

Read the full Volatility trajectory →

ClamAV vs Volatility: editorial side-by-side

C
ClamAV
INFRA · APIS
0.0

ClamAV's file parsers keep yielding CVEs — and every fix ships twice, to two branches.

◆ Current state

ClamAV runs two supported lines, 1.5.x and 1.4.x, and publishes identical patch releases seconds apart whenever a vulnerability lands. The recurring source is the same: file format parsers. The July pair fixed a PESpin unpacker use-after-free and an integer overflow in PE rebuild size calculations; the March pair fixed an HTML parser error-handling crash and a JPEG scanning hang inherited from a Rust image dependency. One of the July issues reaches back to code from 2005.

◆ Where it's heading

Feature work has effectively paused since 1.5.0 last October, which added OLE2 encryption detection and HTML URI recording in JSON metadata. Everything since is patch traffic. The more consequential trend is the Rust dependency chain: fixing image parsing bugs by upgrading crates has twice forced the minimum Rust compiler version upward, which pushes cost onto distribution packagers rather than end users.

◆ Prediction

Expect the dual-branch CVE pattern to continue at roughly quarterly intervals, with the PE and archive parsers the likeliest source given their history here. Whether a 1.6 line opens is not something these entries indicate — there has been no development release since the 1.5.0 cycle.

V
Volatility
INFRA · APIS
0.0

Volatility 3 caught up with Volatility 2, then started reorganising itself.

◆ Current state

The 2.26.0 release was explicitly aimed at functional parity with the archived Volatility 2, landing around twenty plugins at once across Linux, macOS and Windows. Since then the work has shifted from filling gaps to structuring what exists: malware-specific plugins moved under a malware namespace with the old names deprecated, an arrow/parquet output renderer added, volshell given breakpoints, and per-release additions like sockscan, process_spoofing, pebmasquerade and etwpatch.

◆ Where it's heading

Two things are happening at once. The plugin catalogue keeps growing on the Linux side in particular — tracing, kallsyms, ftrace, VMA scanning, smearing protection — reflecting where memory forensics currently has the least coverage. And the framework is being made into something other tools consume: structured output formats, a shipped Windows executable, a namespaced plugin taxonomy with a year-long deprecation window. The project is treating plugin names as an interface it owes users stability on.

◆ Prediction

Expect the malware namespace migration to complete as the deprecated names age out, and the Linux plugin surface to keep taking the bulk of new additions, with output-format work continuing to open the framework to automated pipelines.

Alternatives to ClamAV and Volatility

Other Infra & APIs products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either ClamAV or Volatility.

See all ClamAV alternatives → · See all Volatility alternatives →

Recent activity from ClamAV and Volatility

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 1mo agoClamAVPESpin use-after-free and PE overflow patched
  2. 1mo agoClamAVSame PE fixes backported to the 1.4 line
  3. 3mo agoVolatility2.28.0 adds sockscan and process_spoofing, improves Intel scanning
  4. 5mo agoClamAVHTML parser crash fixed; Rust floor raised again
  5. 5mo agoClamAV1.4 branch takes the HTML and TIFF parser fixes
  6. 6mo agoVolatility2.27.0 adds an arrow/parquet renderer and pebmasquerade
  7. 9mo agoClamAVPE and TNEF scanning performance fixes
  8. 10mo agoClamAV1.5.0 adds OLE2 encryption checks and HTML URI capture
  9. 10mo agoVolatility2.26.2 moves malware plugins into their own namespace
  10. 1y agoVolatility2.26.0 reaches functional parity with Volatility 2
  11. 1y agoVolatility2.11.0 adds fifteen plugins and raises the Python floor to 3.8
  12. 1y agoVolatility2.8.0 adds vmscan and a batch of Windows injection plugins

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between ClamAV and Volatility?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. ClamAV and Volatility are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is ClamAV better than Volatility?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. ClamAV and Volatility are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to ClamAV?

Top ClamAV alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "ClamAV alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/clamav for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Volatility?

Top Volatility alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Volatility alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/volatility for the full list with editorial commentary on each.