In response to NGSSoftware Advisories NISR19042004a and NISR19042004b, ------------------------------------------------------------------ Symantec Security Advisory SYM04-005 19 March, 2004 Symantec Norton Internet Security and Norton AntiSpam Remote Access Vulnerability Revision History None Risk Impact High Overview NGSsoftware notified Symantec of a security vulnerability NGSsoftware had found in the Symantec Norton Internet Security and Symantec Norton AntiSpam 2004. If properly exploited this vulnerability could allow remote execution of arbitrary code on a targeted system resulting in possible system compromise. Affected Components Symantec Norton Internet Security 2004 and Professional for Windows Symantec Norton AntiSpam 2004 Details Symantec was alerted to a remote access vulnerability that NGSsoftware discovered while evaluating Symantec Norton Internet Security 2004 and Symantec Norton AntiSpam 2004. Symantec Norton Internet Security and Symantec Norton AntiSpam 2004 contain ActiveX components that do not do proper bounds checking of external input. A malicious individual could potentially exploit these weaknesses to launch a local application on the target system and possibly run arbitrary code of their choice on the local system with elevated privileges. To do this successfully, the attacker would need to either entice the targeted user to visit a location where the malicious code could be launched or to download and launch the malicious code on their system. Successful execution of these security issues could result in compromise of the targeted system. Symantec Response Symantec has verified the issues reported by NGSsoftware and released patches for both Symantec Norton Internet Security and Symantec Norton AntiSpam 2004 via Symantec LiveUpdate. Customers should run Symantec LiveUpdate manually to ensure all installed Symantec products are fully updated. · Open any installed Symantec product · Click on LiveUpdate in the toolbar · Run LiveUpdate until all available Symantec product updates are downloaded and installed Symantec is unaware of any active exploits for or customer impact from these issues. Symantec will continue to evaluate the issues. As a part of normal best practices, Symantec recommends using a multi-layered approach to security. Users, at a minimum, should run both personal firewall and antivirus applications with current updates to provide multiple points of detection and protection to both inbound and outbound threats. Users should keep vendor-supplied patches for all application software and operating systems up-to-date. Users should further be wary of mysterious attachments and executables delivered via email and be wary of visiting unknown/untrusted websites. Do not open attachments or executables from unknown sources. Always err on the side of caution. Even if the sender is known, be wary of attachments if the sender does not fully explain the attachment content in the body of the email. You do not know the source of the attachment. If in doubt, contact the sender before opening the attachment. If still in doubt, delete the attachment without opening it. CVE Symantec has requested a Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) candidate name for these issues. We will revise this Advisory upon receipt. This is a candidate for inclusion in the CVE list (http://cve.mitre.org), which standardizes names for security problems. Credit: Symantec appreciates the cooperation of Mark Litchfield and the NGSsoftware research team in identifying this issue. Symantec Product Security Contact: Symantec takes the security and proper functionality of its products very seriously. As founding members in the Organization for Internet Safety, Symantec follows the process of responsible disclosure. Please contact symsecurity@symantec.com if you feel you have discovered a potential or actual security issue with a Symantec product. Symantec strongly recommends using encrypted email for reporting vulnerability information to symsecurity@symantec.com. The SymSecurity PGP key may be obtained from the Symantec Security Response site. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 2004 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 parts of this alert in any medium other than electronically requires permission from symsecurity@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, 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.
