CVE-2026-101034 in Symantec Ghost Solution Suite
Summary
by MITRE • 10/27/2026
An attacker who obtained the hardcoded key could decrypt domain/service account passwords, task run-as credentials, and sysprep passwords stored in or transmitted by GSS Deployment Server installation.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/27/2026
The vulnerability identified involves a critical flaw in the cryptographic implementation of GSS Deployment Server installations, specifically concerning the management of sensitive credential data such as domain service account passwords, scheduled task execution credentials, and system preparation (sysprep) secrets. The core technical deficiency lies in the use of hardcoded encryption keys within the software binary or configuration files rather than dynamically generated, unique keys tied to specific installation instances or hardware identifiers. This practice violates fundamental security principles regarding key management and significantly lowers the barrier for attackers seeking to compromise confidential information stored by the application.
When an attacker gains access to the installed environment, either through local system privileges or network interception during transmission, they can extract this static encryption key from the software artifacts. Because the key is hardcoded, it remains constant across all installations of that specific version and build, allowing a single extracted key to potentially decrypt credentials from multiple affected systems if the attacker has access to their respective data stores or captured traffic logs. This lack of entropy in key generation means that once one instance is compromised, the security posture of other instances using the same default configuration is equally weakened, creating a widespread risk vector across enterprise deployments relying on this deployment tooling.
The operational impact of exploiting this vulnerability is severe, as it effectively neutralizes the confidentiality protections provided by the application for its most sensitive data elements. Domain and service account passwords are often used with high privileges to automate administrative tasks or run background services; their exposure can lead to full domain compromise if these accounts have excessive permissions. Similarly, task run-as credentials allow scripts and programs to execute under specific user contexts, and sysprep passwords are crucial for unattended operating system installations in virtualized environments. Decrypting these values allows an attacker to impersonate legitimate service identities, escalate privileges by reusing valid administrative tokens, or disrupt automated infrastructure provisioning processes. This capability facilitates lateral movement within the network and can serve as a pivot point for deeper intrusions into critical business systems.
From a classification perspective, this issue aligns with CWE-798: Use of Hard-coded Credentials, which highlights the danger of embedding secret data directly in source code or configuration files where it is accessible to anyone who can read those files. Additionally, the exploitation path relates to ATT&CK technique T1552.004: Unsecured Credentials, specifically involving stored credentials that are not protected by adequate encryption mechanisms with unique keys per instance. The vulnerability also touches upon CWE-319: Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information if the hardcoded key allows decryption of data transmitted over network channels without proper dynamic session-based encryption integrity.
To mitigate this risk, immediate remediation should focus on updating to a patched version of GSS Deployment Server that implements robust key management practices, such as deriving keys from unique machine-specific identifiers or utilizing operating system-level secure storage mechanisms like Windows Credential Manager or Linux libsecret. Administrators must also assume compromise if the vulnerability is exploitable in their environment and rotate all affected passwords for domain accounts, task credentials, and sysprep configurations immediately. Network segmentation should be reviewed to limit access to systems running vulnerable versions of the software, ensuring that only authorized administrative workstations can interact with deployment services. Furthermore, implementing strict file integrity monitoring on application directories can help detect unauthorized modifications or extractions of configuration files containing sensitive parameters before they are exploited by malicious actors seeking to leverage these hardcoded secrets for further intrusion activities.