Re: SRT2004-01-9-1022 - Symantec LiveUpdate allows local users to become SYSTEM
In response to SnoSoft's, SRT2004-01-9-1022 - Symantec LiveUpdate allows
local users to become SYSTEM, 01/12/2004 06:22AM:
Quick Summary:
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Advisory Number : SRT2004-01-09-1022
Product : Symantec LiveUpdate
Version : 1.70.x through 1.90.x
Vendor : http://symantec.com/techsupp/files/lu/lu.html
Class : Local
Criticality : High (to users of the below listed products)
Products Affected : Symantec LiveUpdate 1.70.x through
1.90.x
: Norton SystemWorks
2001-2004
: Norton AntiVirus (and
Pro) 2001-2004
: Norton Internet
Security (and Pro) 2001-2004
: Symantec AntiVirus for
Handhelds v3.0
Operating System(s) : Win32
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Symantec Security Response Advisory
SYM04-001
12 January 2004
Symantec Automatic LiveUpdate Local User Elevation of Privilege
Revision History
None
Risk Impact
Medium
Local access required. Automatic LiveUpdate launches as a scheduled task
if so configured and only on systems running retail versions of Symantec
products. Impact of this issue would result in elevated privilege on the
host system only and is highly dependent on system configuration and
environment.
Overview
Security analysts from Secure Network Operations notified Symantec of a
potential issue with the Automatic LiveUpdate feature, available with
retail versions of some Symantec products, when running as a scheduled
task. If the system is configured as a multi-user system with privileged
and non-privileged user access, a non-privileged user could potentially
access and manipulate the Symantec Automatic LiveUpdate GUI functionality
to gain privileged system access.
Affected Components
Symantec Windows LiveUpdate 1.70.x through 1.90.x
Symantec Norton SystemWorks 2001-2004
Symantec Norton AntiVirus and Norton AntiVirus Pro 2001-2004
Symantec Norton Internet Security and Norton Internet Security Pro
2001-2004
Symantec AntiVirus for Handhelds v3.0
Not Affected
Symantec Windows LiveUpdate v2.x
Symantec Java LiveUpdate (all versions)
Symantec Enterprise products (Symantec Enterprise products do not support
the Automatic LiveUpdate functionality)
Details
Symantec Automatic LiveUpdate, a functionality included with many Symantec
retail products, is launched by the system scheduler on system startup and
then periodically after startup. Symantec Automatic LiveUpdate checks for
available updates to any supported Symantec products installed on the
system.
Symantec Automatic LiveUpdate can be configured to notify the user when
Symantec product updates are available for download. Symantec Automatic
LiveUpdate does this via a LiveUpdate icon displayed in the system
taskbar. At this prompt, the user may choose to open an interactive
LiveUpdate session to retrieve any available updates.
When a vulnerable version of Symantec Automatic LiveUpdate is initially
launched at startup it is assigned Local System privileges. During the
time when an interactive LiveUpdate session is available, and only during
this session, a non-privileged user could potentially manipulate the
LiveUpdate GUI functionality to gain elevated privilege on the local host.
For example, the user could gain privileges to search all system files,
assume full permission for directories and files on the host, or add
themselves to the local administrative group.
Symantec Response
Symantec verified this vulnerability does exist in the current supported
versions of Automatic LiveUpdate shipped with many Symantec retail
products. This issue is fixed in the latest release of Symantec Windows
LiveUpdate v2.0.
Symantec Windows LiveUpdate 2.0 is available for download from the
Symantec technical support site at
http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/files/lu/lu.html should you choose not to
update via Symantec's LiveUpdate capability.
Symantec Windows LiveUpdate 2.0 is also available for all supported
Symantec products via the Symantec product's LiveUpdate function. To
update using LiveUpdate, select the LiveUpdate option within your retail
Symantec product and download and install all available updates. In some
cases, the update to LiveUpdate 2.0 may required a restart of your system
to complete.
To determine your version of Symantec LiveUpdate:
1. Open any Symantec retail product installed on your system, e.g.,
Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2004
2. Click on LiveUpdate in the toolbar
3. Click on the LiveUpdate system menu to see the drop-down selections
4. Click on "About LiveUpdate" to see the version of LiveUpdate you are
running
If you are running a version of Symantec LiveUpdate prior to v2.0,
Symantec recommends running LiveUpdate or downloading Symantec Windows
LiveUpdate v2.0 from the support site indicated above to upgrade your
system to the latest version of Symantec LiveUpdate.
Mitigating Circumstances
While effectively exploiting this issue would permit a non-privileged user
to gain privileged access on the local host, there are mitigating
circumstances that greatly reduce the risk of exploitation in Symantec's
Automatic LiveUpdate:
* Symantec Automatic LiveUpdate is implemented in retail versions of
Symantec products ONLY.
* The system is vulnerable only if the interactive LiveUpdate capability
is available to the user
o Automatic LiveUpdate must be configured with the option enabled to
notify the user when updates are available
o If the system is a single-user system, this issue would not have an
impact
o If the system IS configured as a multi-user system with privileged and
non-privileged user access to the host system, the non-privileged user
would require an authorized user account on the host system and must be
logged on interactively to exploit this issue
* Elevated privileges can be gained only on the local system, which
normally limits any impact
Credit
Symantec takes the security and proper functionality of its products very
seriously. Symantec appreciates the efforts of KF and the Security Network
Operations security team in identifying this issue and coordinating with
Symantec during the verification and fix process to properly update and
protect Symantec customers. Information on this and other security issues
can be found at the Secure Network Operations Inc., web site,
http://www.secnetops.com/
CVE
The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposure (CVE) initiative has assigned the
name CAN-2003-0994 to this issue.
This is a candidate for inclusion in the CVE list (http://cve.mitre.org),
which standardizes names for security problems.
Anyone with information on security issues with Symantec products should
contact symsecurity@xxxxxxxxxxxxx This advisory is posted on the Symantec
Security Response page.
Encryption
Symantec strongly recommends using encrypted email for reporting
vulnerability information to symsecurity@xxxxxxxxxxxxx The SymSecurity
PGP key may be obtained here.
Copyright (c) 2004 by Symantec Corp.
Permission to redistribute this Advisory 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 Advisory in a medium other
than electronically requires permission from symsecurity@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Disclaimer:
The information in the advisory is believed to be accurate at the time of
printing 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.
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Security are Registered Trademarks of Symantec Corp. and/or affiliated
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