CVE-2019-12759 in Endpoint Protection Manager
Summary
by MITRE
Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager (SEPM) and Symantec Mail Security for MS Exchange (SMSMSE), prior to versions 14.2 RU2 and 7.5.x respectively, 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-2019-12759 affects Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager and Symantec Mail Security for MS Exchange products, representing a critical privilege escalation flaw that undermines the security posture of these enterprise-level security solutions. This vulnerability exists in versions prior to SEPM 14.2 RU2 and SMSMSE 7.5.x, indicating that organizations running these older versions face significant risk of unauthorized access and potential system compromise. The flaw allows attackers to exploit existing application functionality to elevate their privileges beyond normal user restrictions, effectively bypassing the intended access controls that protect sensitive system resources and data within these security management platforms.
The technical nature of this privilege escalation vulnerability stems from insufficient access control mechanisms within the Symantec security products, creating opportunities for unauthorized users to manipulate application behavior and gain elevated system permissions. This type of vulnerability is classified under CWE-276, which specifically addresses improper privilege management and inadequate access control implementations. The flaw likely manifests through improper validation of user credentials or insufficient authorization checks during administrative operations, allowing malicious actors to escalate their privileges without proper authentication or authorization. Attackers could potentially leverage this vulnerability to execute arbitrary code, modify system configurations, access sensitive data, or disrupt service availability within the affected environments.
The operational impact of CVE-2019-12759 extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it fundamentally compromises the integrity of the security infrastructure that organizations rely upon to protect their networks and data. When an attacker successfully exploits this vulnerability, they can potentially gain access to the same administrative privileges that legitimate administrators possess, enabling them to manipulate security policies, disable protective measures, or exfiltrate sensitive information from the managed environment. This creates a particularly dangerous scenario where the attacker's actions go undetected while they operate within the legitimate security framework, making detection and forensic analysis significantly more challenging. The vulnerability affects not only the direct security management functions but also impacts the broader organizational security posture by potentially exposing the entire network to further compromise.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigations including updating to the patched versions of both SEPM 14.2 RU2 and SMSMSE 7.5.x, as these releases contain the necessary security fixes to address the privilege escalation vulnerability. Additionally, implementing network segmentation and monitoring for unusual administrative activities can help detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068, which covers privilege escalation through exploitation of software vulnerabilities, and represents a critical threat that organizations must address promptly to maintain their security defenses. Regular security assessments and vulnerability management processes should be enhanced to identify and remediate similar issues in other enterprise security solutions, as this vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date security infrastructure to prevent exploitation by sophisticated threat actors.