Vulnerability identifier: #VU21

Vulnerability risk: High

CVSSv3.1: 8.4 [CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2016-2208

CWE-ID: CWE-122

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: Yes

Description
The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the target system.

The vulnerability exists due to boundary error in processing files in Anti Virus Engine. A remote unauthenticated attacker can cause a heap buffer overflow by creating a specially crafted file that, when processed by the target application, will trigger a heap overflow in the processing of PE headers and execute arbitrary code on the target system. The code will run with root privileges on Linux/UNIX/OS X based systems and kernel-level privileges on the target system.
Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may result in complete compromise of vulnerable system.

Norton and Symantec Enterprise products that ship with the Anti Virus Engine (AVE) are affected.

Mitigation
The vendor has issued a fix (AVE 20151.1.1.4)

External links
http://www.symantec.com/security_response/securityupdates/detail.jsp?fid=security_advisory&...

---

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability. However, proof of concept for this vulnerability is available.