__________________________________________________________ The U.S. Department of Energy Computer Incident Advisory Capability ___ __ __ _ ___ / | /_\ / \___ __|__ / \ \___ __________________________________________________________ INFORMATION BULLETIN Symantec AntiVirus Help File Elevation of Privilege [SYM05-012] August 24, 2005 23:00 GMT Number P-291 ______________________________________________________________________________ PROBLEM: A non-privileged client user can manipulate the help function to access files on the system with local SYSTEM privileges. PLATFORM: Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 9.0, 9.0.1, 9.0.2 Symantec Client Security 2.0, 2.0.1, 2.0.2 DAMAGE: Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition HTML help interface allows an authorized, but non-privileged user to gain privileged access to files and functionality on the local system. SOLUTION: Upgrade to current version. ______________________________________________________________________________ VULNERABILITY The risk is MEDIUM. Allows an authorized, but non-privileged ASSESSMENT: user to gain privileged access to the local system. ______________________________________________________________________________ LINKS: CIAC BULLETIN: http://www.ciac.org/ciac/bulletins/p-291.shtml ORIGINAL BULLETIN: http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/security/ Content/2005.08.24.html CVE/CAN: http://www.cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name= CAN-2005-2017 ______________________________________________________________________________ [***** Start SYM05-012 *****] SYM05-012 August 24, 2005 Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 9.0 and Symantec Client Security 2.0 Help File Elevation of Privilege Revision History None Risk Impact Medium (client only) Remote Access No Local Access Yes Authentication Required Yes Exploit publicly available Not Required Overview The Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition HTML client help function uses HTML help, the Windows help interface, to provide support to the client user. A non-privileged client user can manipulate the help function to access files on the system with local SYSTEM privileges. Affected Products Product Version Solution Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 9.0 Upgrade to MR3 or later Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 9.0.1 Upgrade to MR3 or later Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 9.0.2 Upgrade to MR3 or later Symantec Client Security 2.0 Upgrade to MR3 or later Symantec Client Security 2.0.1 Upgrade to MR3 or later Symantec Client Security 2.0.2 Upgrade to MR3 or later Non-Affected Products Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition Prior to 9.0 Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 9.0.3 and later Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 10.0 Symantec Client Security Prior to 2.0 Symantec Client Security 2.0.3 and later Symantec Client Security 3.0 Details iDefense Labs notified Symantec of an issue within the functionality of the Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition HTML help interface that allows an authorized, but non-privileged user to gain privileged access to files and functionality on the local system. The Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition client help function uses HTML help, the Windows help interface, to provide support to the client user. This interface was made to provide the user with a common interface that the user understands, is familiar with, and is able to implement quickly and easily. When an authorized user accesses the GUI on the Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition client, the user can request help using the GUI toolbar. In the vulnerable product versions, the HTML help functionality assumes permissions from the Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition privileged access, rather than retaining the more restrictive user privileges assigned to a non-privileged logged-in user. By manipulating the GUI interface the non-privileged local user gains the ability to browse all system files or execute local system applications and programs with local SYSTEM privilege. Symantec Response Symantec engineers verified this issue and corrected it in Maintenance Release (MR) 3 and all subsequent MRs and upgrades for Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition and Symantec Client Security. Symantec strongly recommends users update to the latest MR available for Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 9.0 and Symantec Client Security 2.0 or to the latest product version to protect against this issue. MR 4 is available to address this threat in the Japanese and Korean language versions of Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 9.0 and Symantec Client Security 2.0. Upgrade Information Maintenance Releases and product upgrades are available through the Platinum Support Web Site for Platinum customers or through the FileConnect -Electronic Software Distribution web site for licensed users. There are mitigating circumstances that greatly reduce the risk of intentional or inadvertent use of this issue in affected Symantec products. * The user must have a user account on the targeted system and be logged on interactively to exploit this weakness. * This weakness cannot be exploited remotely. * Local System privileges can only be gained on the client system, which normally limits the impact to the logged on system. * Access to domain controllers / administrator systems would normally be restricted to trusted Administrators only with restricted access to the physical . system. Symantec is not aware of any adverse customer impact from this issue. CVE The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) initiative has assigned CVE Candidate CAN-2005-2017 to this issue. This issue is a candidate for inclusion in the CVE list (http://cve.mitre.org), which standardizes names for security problems. Credit Symantec thanks iDEFENSE Labs, for notification of this issue and coordinating disclosure as it was resolved. 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 Management PGP Key Symantec Product Vulnerability Management 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. Initial Post on: Wednesday, 24-Aug-05 13:40:00 Last modified on: Wednesday, 24-Aug-05 14:05:16 [***** End SYM05-012 *****] _______________________________________________________________________________ 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. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or the University of California, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes. 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