CVE-2018-18368 in Endpoint Protection Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager (SEPM), prior to 14.2 RU1, may be susceptible to a privilege escalation vulnerability, which is a type of issue whereby an attacker may attempt to compromise the software application to gain elevated access to resources that are normally protected from an application or user.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/16/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-18368 affects Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager (SEPM) versions prior to 14.2 RU1, representing a critical privilege escalation flaw that fundamentally undermines the security posture of endpoint protection systems. This vulnerability resides within the application's permission handling mechanisms, specifically targeting how the SEPM manages user privileges and access controls. The flaw allows an attacker to escalate their privileges from a standard user level to administrative access, potentially enabling complete system compromise and unauthorized access to sensitive network resources. The issue stems from inadequate input validation and privilege management within the SEPM's authentication and authorization frameworks, creating a pathway for malicious actors to bypass normal security controls.
The technical implementation of this privilege escalation vulnerability involves exploiting weaknesses in the SEPM's access control enforcement mechanisms, where insufficient validation of user permissions allows unauthorized operations to be executed with elevated privileges. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which categorizes improper access control issues, and represents a direct violation of the principle of least privilege that should govern all security-critical applications. The flaw likely manifests through improper handling of API calls or administrative functions that should require explicit authentication and authorization checks. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to perform actions such as modifying security policies, accessing confidential data, or establishing persistent backdoors within the protected environment.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-18368 extends far beyond the immediate compromise of individual systems, as it enables attackers to gain unauthorized administrative access to endpoint protection infrastructure. This creates a severe risk for enterprise environments where SEPM serves as a central security management platform, potentially allowing attackers to modify security policies, disable protection mechanisms, or exfiltrate sensitive data from protected systems. Organizations relying on SEPM for their endpoint security may find their entire security infrastructure compromised, as the vulnerability undermines the fundamental trust model that these security solutions are designed to maintain. The attack surface expands significantly since the compromised SEPM could provide attackers with insights into network topology, security configurations, and other sensitive information.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-18368 should prioritize immediate deployment of Symantec's official security patches and updates, specifically targeting SEPM version 14.2 RU1 or later releases that contain the necessary fixes for the privilege escalation vulnerability. Organizations should implement network segmentation and monitoring to detect unauthorized access attempts, while also conducting thorough security audits of their SEPM configurations to identify any potential exploitation attempts. The remediation process must include comprehensive testing of updated systems to ensure that the vulnerability is properly addressed without introducing new issues. Security teams should also consider implementing additional access controls, such as role-based access controls and privileged access management solutions, to reduce the potential impact should similar vulnerabilities be discovered in the future. This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date security software and the necessity of following security best practices as outlined in industry standards like those referenced in the ATT&CK framework for privilege escalation techniques.