CVE-2016-2211 in Endpoint Protection
Summary
by MITRE
The AntiVirus Decomposer engine in Symantec Advanced Threat Protection (ATP); Symantec Data Center Security:Server (SDCS:S) 6.x through 6.6 MP1; Symantec Web Gateway; Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) before 12.1 RU6 MP5; Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) for Mac; Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) for Linux before 12.1 RU6 MP5; Symantec Protection Engine (SPE) before 7.0.5 HF01, 7.5.x before 7.5.3 HF03, 7.5.4 before HF01, and 7.8.0 before HF01; Symantec Protection for SharePoint Servers (SPSS) 6.0.3 through 6.0.5 before 6.0.5 HF 1.5 and 6.0.6 before HF 1.6; Symantec Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange (SMSMSE) before 7.0_3966002 HF1.1 and 7.5.x before 7.5_3966008 VHF1.2; Symantec Mail Security for Domino (SMSDOM) before 8.0.9 HF1.1 and 8.1.x before 8.1.3 HF1.2; CSAPI before 10.0.4 HF01; Symantec Message Gateway (SMG) before 10.6.1-4; Symantec Message Gateway for Service Providers (SMG-SP) 10.5 before patch 254 and 10.6 before patch 253; Norton AntiVirus, Norton Security, Norton Internet Security, and Norton 360 before NGC 22.7; Norton Security for Mac before 13.0.2; Norton Power Eraser (NPE) before 5.1; and Norton Bootable Removal Tool (NBRT) before 2016.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted CAB file that is mishandled during decompression.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/25/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-2211 represents a critical memory corruption flaw within the AntiVirus Decomposer engine of multiple Symantec security products. This weakness affects a broad ecosystem of endpoint protection, web gateway, mail security, and data center security solutions spanning several major product lines including Symantec Advanced Threat Protection, Endpoint Protection, and various specialized security modules. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of crafted CAB archive files during the decompression process, creating a potential attack surface that could be exploited by remote adversaries to execute arbitrary code or induce denial of service conditions.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the insufficient validation and sanitization of input data within the decompression engine. When processing maliciously crafted CAB files, the engine fails to properly validate the structure and contents of these archives, leading to memory corruption that can be leveraged for privilege escalation. This flaw operates at the kernel or core processing level where archive extraction occurs, making it particularly dangerous as it can bypass traditional security controls that operate at higher application layers. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-121, which specifically addresses stack-based buffer overflow conditions, though the actual implementation likely involves heap corruption mechanisms typical in decompression engines.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends across numerous enterprise security environments where Symantec products are deployed. Organizations utilizing affected versions of Symantec Endpoint Protection, Data Center Security, Web Gateway, and mail security solutions face potential compromise of their security infrastructure. Attackers could exploit this weakness to gain unauthorized access to systems, escalate privileges, or disrupt security operations through denial of service attacks that render security products ineffective. The widespread deployment of these products across enterprise networks means that successful exploitation could affect thousands of systems simultaneously, potentially compromising entire organizational security postures.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-2211 require immediate patching of all affected Symantec products to the latest available versions. Organizations should prioritize updating their security infrastructure, particularly focusing on Endpoint Protection clients, mail security appliances, and data center security solutions. Network administrators should implement additional monitoring and anomaly detection measures to identify potential exploitation attempts, while security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to ensure all affected systems are properly updated. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1059.007 for command and script interpreter and T1489 for denial of service, indicating the dual nature of the threat. Additionally, implementing network segmentation and access controls can help limit the potential impact should exploitation occur, while regular security audits should verify that all endpoints are running patched versions of the affected software components.