CVE-2016-5309 in Message Gateway
Summary
by MITRE
The RAR file parser component in the AntiVirus Decomposer engine in Symantec Advanced Threat Protection: Network (ATP); Symantec Email Security.Cloud; Symantec Data Center Security: Server; Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) for Windows before 12.1.6 MP5; Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) for Mac; Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) for Linux before 12.1.6 MP6; Symantec Endpoint Protection for Small Business Enterprise (SEP SBE/SEP.Cloud); Symantec Endpoint Protection Cloud (SEPC) for Windows/Mac; Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition 12.1; CSAPI before 10.0.4 HF02; Symantec Protection Engine (SPE) before 7.0.5 HF02, 7.5.x before 7.5.4 HF02, 7.5.5 before 7.5.5 HF01, and 7.8.x before 7.8.0 HF03; Symantec Mail Security for Domino (SMSDOM) before 8.0.9 HF2.1, 8.1.x before 8.1.2 HF2.3, and 8.1.3 before 8.1.3 HF2.2; Symantec Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange (SMSMSE) before 6.5.8_3968140 HF2.3, 7.x before 7.0_3966002 HF2.1, and 7.5.x before 7.5_3966008 VHF2.2; Symantec Protection for SharePoint Servers (SPSS) before SPSS_6.0.3_To_6.0.5_HF_2.5 update, 6.0.6 before 6.0.6 HF_2.6, and 6.0.7 before 6.0.7_HF_2.7; Symantec Messaging Gateway (SMG) before 10.6.2; Symantec Messaging Gateway for Service Providers (SMG-SP) before 10.5 patch 260 and 10.6 before patch 259; Symantec Web Gateway; and Symantec Web Security.Cloud allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds read) via a crafted RAR file that is mishandled during decompression.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/12/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-5309 represents a critical out-of-bounds read flaw within the RAR file parsing functionality of multiple Symantec security products. This issue affects the AntiVirus Decomposer engine component that processes RAR archives across various Symantec endpoint and network security solutions. The flaw manifests when the system encounters a specially crafted RAR file that triggers improper memory handling during decompression operations, leading to potential system instability and denial of service conditions.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in insufficient input validation and memory boundary checking within the RAR file parser implementation. When processing maliciously constructed RAR archives, the decompression engine fails to properly validate array indices or buffer limits, resulting in attempts to read memory locations beyond the allocated boundaries. This class of vulnerability is categorized under CWE-129 as "Improper Validation of Array Index" and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for execution through decompression tools. The out-of-bounds read condition can be exploited by remote attackers who craft specific RAR files designed to trigger the memory access violation, causing the affected security software to crash or become unresponsive.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends across numerous Symantec security products spanning endpoint protection, email security, web security, and messaging gateway solutions. Systems running affected versions of Symantec Endpoint Protection for Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms, along with various cloud-based and on-premises security solutions, are at risk of experiencing denial of service conditions. The vulnerability affects organizations that rely on these security products for network protection, potentially creating gaps in security coverage when the affected systems become unavailable. The widespread nature of the impacted software portfolio means that organizations across different sectors and deployment models could experience service disruption, with potential cascading effects on network security operations and incident response capabilities.
Organizations should prioritize immediate remediation through the application of vendor-provided patches and updates for all affected Symantec products. The vulnerability requires careful monitoring of network traffic for potential exploitation attempts and implementation of network segmentation controls to limit the attack surface. Security teams should also consider implementing additional detection measures such as anomaly detection for unusual decompression activities and memory access patterns. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing of patched environments to ensure that the update does not introduce compatibility issues with existing security workflows. Regular vulnerability assessments and security configuration reviews should be conducted to maintain protection against similar memory safety issues, with particular attention to input validation controls and boundary checking mechanisms throughout the security infrastructure.