Symantec Security Advisory

Revision History
April 8, 2008 Added CVE information
May 30, 2008 Updated link to the AutoFix tool

Remote Access	Yes
Local Access	Yes
Authentication Required	No
Exploit publicly available	No

Overview
Two vulnerabilities reported in an ActiveX control used by the Symantec AutoFix Tool could potentially allow arbitrary code execution in the context of the user’s browser. Successful exploitation requires user interaction.

Affected Products

Product	Platform	Version	Solution
Norton 360	Windows	1.0	Update available
Norton AntiVirus	Windows	2006 - 2008	Update available
Norton Internet Security	Windows	2006 - 2008	Update available
Norton System Works	Windows	2006 - 2008	Update available

Note:
The affected ActiveX control is shipped only with the consumer products noted above. The control may also have been installed during an online chat session with a member of Symantec’s Consumer Technical Support team. See How to Obtain an Updated AutoFix Tool, below, for information on the update.

Unaffected Products

Product	Platform	Version
Norton 360	Windows	2.0
Norton AntiBot	Windows	All
Norton AntiVirus for Macintosh	Macintosh	All
Norton AntiVirus Dual Protection for Macintosh	Macintosh	All
Norton Confidential	Windows, Macintosh	All
Norton Ghost	Windows	All
Norton Internet Security	Macintosh	All
Norton Partition Magic	Macintosh	All
Norton Personal Firewall	Macintosh	All
Norton Smartphone Security	Windows	All

Note:The affected ActiveX control is not used to troubleshoot problems with Symantec enterprise software, such as Symantec Endpoint Protection. Enterprise products do not include or use the affected ActiveX control.

Details
IDefense notified Symantec of two vulnerabilities in an ActiveX control (SYMADATA.DLL) used to troubleshoot Symantec consumer products.

The first vulnerability, reported by Peter Vreugdenhill, is a stack based buffer overflow which could allow a successful attacker to run code of their choice in the context of the user’s browser. The user must be enticed to visit a malicious website masquerading as a trusted Symantec site before an attack can be launched.

The second vulnerability occurs due to a design error in the process used to look for and launch the AutoFix Tool. If successfully exploited, an attacker could load and execute code of their choice from a remote share. However, this can occur only if the target system (user’s system) is configured to allow access to remote shares via WebDav or SMB.

Symantec Response
Symantec engineers have developed and released updates to address both of these vulnerabilities, as described under How to Obtain the Update.

The affected ActiveX control is digitally signed and site locked so it can only be scripted from a trusted domain. To successfully exploit either vulnerability, an attacker would need to be able to masquerade as the trusted Symantec website, such as through a Cross Site Scripting attack or DNS poisoning. The user must also be enticed to visit the malicious website from which the attack would be launched. This type of attack is often achieved by sending email or instant message containing a link to the malicious site, and persuading the recipient to click on the link.

The overall severity of these vulnerabilities is considered to be low because of the indirect nature of the attack vector, and the reliance on user interaction to accomplish a successful exploit.

Symantec is not aware of any customers impacted by this issue, or of any attempts to exploit the issue.

Mitigation
Symantec has released IPS signatures for Norton firewall products, to detect and block attempts to exploit the buffer overflow (BID 28507). In addition, Symantec Security Response has released a Bloodhound detection for all Symantec antivirus programs, to detect and block attempts to exploit the launch process design error. These signatures are available by running LiveUpdate.

How to Obtain IPS and Virus Definition Updates
Symantec Norton product users who regularly launch and run LiveUpdate should already have received the IPS signatures and virus definitions. However, to ensure all available updates have been applied, users can manually launch and run LiveUpdate in Interactive mode as follows:

How to Obtain an Updated AutoFix Tool
An updated (non-vulnerable) version of the AutoFix tool will be automatically installed if customers participate in an online Chat session with Symantec Technical Support.
Customers can also download and install an updated AutoFix Tool here:

http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/asa/ctrl/SymADataWeb.msi

Best Practices
As a part of normal best practices, users should keep vendor-supplied patches for all software and operating systems up-to-date. Symantec recommends any affected customers update their product immediately to protect against potential attempts to exploit these vulnerabilities.

Additional best practices include:

Credit
Symantec would like to thank Peter Vreugdenhill and an anonymous finder, working with the IDefense VCP (http://labs.idefense.com/vcp/) for reporting these issues, and coordinating with us on the response.

References
These issues are candidates for inclusion in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) list (http://cve.mitre.org), which standardizes names for security problems. CVE has assigned CVE-2008-0312 to the buffer overflow, and CVE-2008-0313 to the launch process design error.

SecurityFocus, http://www.securityfocus.com, has assigned BID 28507 to the buffer overflow reported by Peter Vreugdenhill, and BID28509 to the launch process design error reported by an anonymous finder.

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 Vulnerability Response Policy

Symantec Product Vulnerability Management PGP Key

Copyright (c) 2008 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 secure@symantec.com 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.