__________________________________________________________ The U.S. Department of Energy Computer Incident Advisory Capability ___ __ __ _ ___ / | /_\ / \___ __|__ / \ \___ __________________________________________________________ INFORMATION BULLETIN Symantec SMTP Binding Configuration Vulnerability [Symantec Security Response SYM05-004] March 1, 2005 17:00 GMT Number P-148 ______________________________________________________________________________ PROBLEM: A potential vulnerability was identified in the SMTP binding function of the entry-level Symantec Gateway Security appliances with ISP load-balancing capabilities. PLATFORM: Symantec Firewall/VPN Appliance 200/200R -firmware builds prior to build 1.68 and later than 1.5Z Symantec Gateway Security 360/360R -firmware builds prior to build 858 Symantec Gateway Security 460/460R -firmware builds prior to build 858 Nexland Pro800turbo -firmware builds prior to build 1.6X and later than 1.5Z DAMAGE: SMTP traffic bound to a trusted network could potentially be passed over both the trusted and untrusted WANs (load-balanced). SOLUTION: Apply the available firmware updates and hotfixes. ______________________________________________________________________________ VULNERABILITY The risk is LOW. This vulnerability may lead to possible ASSESSMENT: information disclosure. Symantec reports that this vulnerability is highly configuration dependent. ______________________________________________________________________________ LINKS: CIAC BULLETIN: http://www.ciac.org/ciac/bulletins/p-148.shtml ORIGINAL BULLETIN: http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/security/ Content/2005.02.28.html ______________________________________________________________________________ [***** Start Symantec Security Response SYM05-004 *****] SYM05-004 February 28, 2005 SMTP Binding Configuration Settings Bypassed Revision History None Risk Impact Medium (Highly configuration dependent) Overview Symantec responded to a potential vulnerability identified in the SMTP binding function of the entry-level Symantec Gateway Security appliances with the ISP load-balancing capabilities. In certain firmware versions, the SMTP (outbound email) traffic would be load-balanced regardless of the user-configured WAN binding selection. This could result in SMTP traffic intended only for a trusted network potentially being passed over an untrusted connection instead. Affected Components Symantec Firewall/VPN Appliance 200/200R -firmware builds prior to build 1.68 and later than 1.5Z Symantec Gateway Security 360/360R -firmware builds prior to build 858 Symantec Gateway Security 460/460R -firmware builds prior to build 858 Nexland Pro800turbo -firmware builds prior to build 1.6X and later than 1.5Z Details Symantec was notified of this potential vulnerability in a Symantec Gateway Security 360 appliance configured to load-balance two ISPs with SMTP binding set for a single WAN. The SMTP binding configuration was not being implemented as selected causing SMTP traffic to be load-balanced through both WAN1 and WAN2. This could result in a potential vulnerability if a trusted network was selected for SMTP binding through one WAN and an untrusted network connected to the other WAN. SMTP traffic bound to the trusted network could potentially be passed over both the trusted and untrusted WANs (load-balanced). Symantec Response Symantec confirmed the potential vulnerability and determined that the issue was also present in the Symantec Gateway Security 460, Symantec Firewall/ VPN Appliance 200, and the legacy Nexland Pro800turbo models that also provide load-balancing capabilities. Symantec has released the following firmware releases that address this issue: * Build 1.68: Symantec Firewall/VPN Appliance models 200 and 200R * Build 858: Symantec Gateway Security Appliance models 360 and 360R * Build 1.6X: Nexland Pro800turbo Symantec recommends customers using SMTP binding in load-balanced configurations apply the appropriate firmware for their affected product models/versions to remedy this issue. Product specific firmware and hotfixes are available via the Symantec Enterprise Support site at http://www.symantec.com/techsupp. CVE A CVE candidate number will be requested from The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) initiative. This advisory will be revised as required once the CVE candidate number has been assigned. This issue is a candidate for inclusion in the CVE list (http://cve.mitre.org), which standardizes names for security problems. Credit Symantec appreciates the actions of Arthur Hagen, Broomstick Net Services, in identifying this issue, notifying Symantec and providing extensive cooperation and coordination while Symantec resolved the issue. Symantec takes the security and proper functionality of its products very seriously. As founding members of the Organization for Internet Safety (OISafety), Symantec follows the principles of responsible disclosure. Symantec also subscribes to the vulnerability guidelines outlined by the National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC). Please contact secure@symantec.com if you feel you have discovered a potential or actual security issue with a Symantec product. A Symantec Product Security team member will contact you regarding your submission. Symantec has developed a Product Vulnerability Handling Process document outlining the process we follow in addressing suspected vulnerabilities in our products. We support responsible disclosure of all vulnerability information in a timely manner to protect Symantec customers and the security of the Internet as a result of vulnerability. This document is available from the location provided below. Symantec strongly recommends using encrypted email for reporting vulnerability information to secure@symantec.com. The Symantec Product Security PGP key can be obtained from the location provided below. Symantec-Product-Vulnerability-Response Symantec Vulnerability Response Policy Symantec Product Vulnerability Response PGP Key Symantec Product Vulnerability Response PGP Key Copyright (c) 2005 by Symantec Corp. Permission to redistribute this alert electronically is granted as long as it is not edited in any way unless authorized by Symantec Security Response. Reprinting the whole or part of this alert in any medium other than electronically requires permission from secure@symantec.com. Disclaimer The information in the advisory is believed to be accurate at the time of publishing based on currently available information. Use of the information constitutes acceptance for use in an AS IS condition. There are no warranties with regard to this information. Neither the author nor the publisher accepts any liability for any direct, indirect, or consequential loss or damage arising from use of, or reliance on, this information. Symantec, Symantec products, Symantec Security Response, and SymSecurity are registered trademarks of Symantec Corp. and/or affiliated companies in the United States and other countries. All other registered and unregistered trademarks represented in this document are the sole property of their respective companies/owners. Last modified on: Monday, 28-Feb-05 11:48:06 [***** End Symantec Security Response SYM05-004 *****] _______________________________________________________________________________ CIAC wishes to acknowledge the contributions of Symantec for the information contained in this bulletin. _______________________________________________________________________________ CIAC, the Computer Incident Advisory Capability, is the computer security incident response team for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the emergency backup response team for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). CIAC is located at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California. CIAC is also a founding member of FIRST, the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams, a global organization established to foster cooperation and coordination among computer security teams worldwide. CIAC services are available to DOE, DOE contractors, and the NIH. CIAC can be contacted at: Voice: +1 925-422-8193 (7x24) FAX: +1 925-423-8002 STU-III: +1 925-423-2604 E-mail: ciac@ciac.org Previous CIAC notices, anti-virus software, and other information are available from the CIAC Computer Security Archive. World Wide Web: http://www.ciac.org/ Anonymous FTP: ftp.ciac.org PLEASE NOTE: Many users outside of the DOE, ESnet, and NIH computing communities receive CIAC bulletins. If you are not part of these communities, please contact your agency's response team to report incidents. Your agency's team will coordinate with CIAC. The Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) is a world-wide organization. A list of FIRST member organizations and their constituencies can be obtained via WWW at http://www.first.org/. This document was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor the University of California nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation or favoring by the United States Government or the University of California. 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