CVE-2025-0893 in Diagnostic Tool
Summary
by MITRE • 02/19/2025
Symantec Diagnostic Tool (SymDiag), prior to 3.0.79, may be susceptible to a Privilege Escalation vulnerability.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/19/2025
The Symantec Diagnostic Tool represents a critical security vulnerability classified as privilege escalation in versions prior to 3.0.79. This flaw exists within Symantec's diagnostic utility designed to help identify and resolve issues with Symantec products. The vulnerability stems from improper privilege handling within the tool's execution environment, allowing unauthorized users to potentially elevate their system privileges beyond what is normally permitted. The affected software operates with elevated privileges during diagnostic operations, creating an attack surface where malicious actors could exploit the privilege escalation mechanism to gain administrative access to systems. This issue particularly affects enterprise environments where Symantec products are deployed, as the diagnostic tool often runs with elevated permissions to perform comprehensive system checks and repairs. The vulnerability manifests when the tool fails to properly validate or restrict privilege levels during execution, potentially allowing local users or attackers with limited access to escalate their privileges to system administrator level.
The technical implementation of this privilege escalation vulnerability involves the tool's insufficient access control mechanisms and improper privilege management during runtime operations. The SymDiag tool likely executes with elevated privileges to access system resources, registry entries, and configuration files necessary for comprehensive diagnostics. However, the flaw occurs when the tool does not adequately enforce privilege boundaries or validate user credentials before performing privileged operations. This weakness can be exploited through various attack vectors including malicious file manipulation, command injection, or direct privilege escalation techniques. The vulnerability may also stem from improper handling of environment variables, path manipulation, or insufficient input validation that allows attackers to manipulate the tool's execution flow and gain elevated privileges. According to CWE classification, this vulnerability aligns with CWE-276 which addresses improper privilege management, and potentially CWE-78 which covers improper neutralization of special elements used in OS commands. The attack pattern follows typical privilege escalation methodologies where an attacker leverages existing system functionality to gain higher-level access rights.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends significantly across enterprise security infrastructure, particularly affecting organizations that rely heavily on Symantec products for endpoint protection and system management. When exploited, the vulnerability could enable attackers to bypass traditional security controls and gain unauthorized administrative access to systems, potentially leading to complete system compromise. The attack surface is particularly concerning in environments where Symantec Diagnostic Tool is frequently used for troubleshooting, as the tool may be executed by multiple users or automated processes with elevated privileges. Organizations could face severe consequences including data breaches, system infiltration, and unauthorized access to sensitive corporate information. The vulnerability also impacts compliance requirements, as it could potentially violate security standards such as those outlined in the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and ISO 27001. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to establish persistent access, deploy additional malware, or conduct lateral movement within the network, making it a significant concern for cybersecurity teams responsible for protecting enterprise environments.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should include immediate deployment of Symantec's patched version 3.0.79 or later, which addresses the privilege escalation flaw through enhanced access control mechanisms and proper privilege validation. Organizations should also implement comprehensive monitoring of Symantec Diagnostic Tool execution, particularly focusing on unauthorized privilege escalation attempts or abnormal execution patterns. Security teams should conduct regular vulnerability assessments to identify systems running vulnerable versions and ensure proper patch management procedures are in place. The implementation of principle of least privilege should be enforced, limiting the execution of diagnostic tools to only necessary users and processes with appropriate authorization levels. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing application control measures that restrict the execution of unauthorized versions of the SymDiag tool and monitor for suspicious privilege elevation activities. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability relates to T1068 which covers privilege escalation, and T1548 which covers abuse of privileges, making it important to monitor for these specific attack patterns in security information and event management systems. Regular security awareness training should also be conducted to ensure personnel understand the risks associated with executing diagnostic tools with elevated privileges and the importance of maintaining proper access controls.