CVE-2020-5824 in Endpoint Protection
Summary
by MITRE
Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) and Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition (SEP SBE), prior to 14.2 RU2 MP1 and prior to 14.2.5569.2100 respectively, may be susceptible to a denial of service vulnerability, which is a type of issue whereby a threat actor attempts to tie up the resources of a resident application, thereby making certain functions unavailable.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/12/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-5824 affects Symantec Endpoint Protection and Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition products, representing a critical denial of service weakness that undermines system availability and operational continuity. This flaw exists in versions prior to 14.2 RU2 MP1 for standard SEP and 14.2.5569.2100 for SEP SBE, indicating that organizations running these older versions face significant risk of service disruption. The vulnerability stems from inadequate resource management within the endpoint protection framework, creating opportunities for malicious actors to exploit the system's resource consumption patterns.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the improper handling of resource allocation during specific operational sequences within the Symantec Endpoint Protection client. When subjected to crafted inputs or specific attack patterns, the system's resource management mechanisms fail to properly terminate or limit resource consumption, leading to exhaustion of available system resources. This behavior aligns with CWE-400, which categorizes resource exhaustion vulnerabilities as a fundamental weakness in software design and implementation. The flaw essentially allows an attacker to consume memory, CPU cycles, or other system resources in a manner that prevents legitimate operations from completing successfully.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a substantial risk to enterprise security infrastructure, as endpoint protection systems are designed to be always available and responsive. When compromised, the affected Symantec clients can become unresponsive or crash entirely, creating gaps in security coverage that attackers can exploit. The impact extends beyond simple service interruption to potentially leaving systems vulnerable to other attack vectors during the period when the protection service is unavailable. This represents a direct violation of the availability principle in the CIA triad, where the denial of service can be leveraged as a stepping stone for more sophisticated attacks.
The attack surface for this vulnerability is particularly concerning as it affects endpoint protection clients that are typically deployed across enterprise networks, making the potential impact widespread. Organizations running affected versions may experience cascading failures as multiple endpoints simultaneously consume excessive resources, leading to network-wide performance degradation. This vulnerability is classified under the MITRE ATT&CK framework as part of the Resource Exhaustion technique, specifically targeting the availability of systems through manipulation of resource consumption patterns. The attack can be executed with relatively low complexity, requiring only the ability to interact with the vulnerable endpoint protection client.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2020-5824 should prioritize immediate patching of affected systems to version 14.2 RU2 MP1 for SEP and 14.2.5569.2100 for SEP SBE, as these releases contain the necessary code modifications to properly manage resource consumption. Network segmentation and monitoring should be implemented to detect anomalous resource usage patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Security teams should also consider implementing additional controls such as rate limiting and resource quotas on endpoint protection client processes to prevent single points of failure. Organizations should conduct thorough testing of patches in controlled environments before deployment to ensure compatibility with existing security policies and operational procedures. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date security software and the potential consequences of running outdated protection solutions in enterprise environments.