Symantec Antivirus Software Open To Attack

edperks · Dec 22, 2005, 06:03 AM

Symantec Antivirus Software Open To Attack

The bug, which could result in a completely compromised machine, remains unpatched, although Symantec has issued an advisory.

Symantec's line of anti-virus software is vulnerable to attack, a prominent security researcher revealed Tuesday. The bug is currently unpatched, although Symantec has issued an advisory.

The vulnerability, which was discovered and reported by Alex Wheeler, is in how Symantec's AntiVirus Library, part of all the Cupertino, Calif.-based security giant's anti-virus products, handles RAR compressed files. RAR files are created by the WinRAR compression utility, developed and sold by RarLab.

The bug, labeled as "Highly critical" by Danish vulnerability tracker Secunia and "High" by Symantec itself, can cause a heap overflow, which then may let an attacker execute additional code. Bottom-line: the bug could result in a completely compromised machine.

"The issues can be leveraged remotely to gain complete control over the affected system," Symantec wrote in an alert Tuesday morning to customers of its DeepSight Threat Management System.

All editions of Symantec's Norton Internet Security and Norton AntiVirus, including AntiVirus for the Macintosh, are at risk, as are other products which include the Library. Those include such enterprise-specific lines as AntiVirus Corporate Edition, Brightmail Anti-Spam, Client Security, and Gateway Security.

Symantec has not issued a patch for the vulnerability, but the DeepSight alert recommended that users disable scanning for RAR files

Wheeler is well known among researchers for his probing of security software weaknesses. Earlier in 2005, he disclosed a slew of vulnerabilities in software from major vendors like McAfee, Kaspersky Labs, F-Secure, and Trend Micro. All the bugs he has discovered involve how the various anti-virus scanning engines handle compressed files. This is the second scanning vulnerability Wheeler has uncovered in Symantec's product line. In February, while working with Internet Security Systems, a Symantec rival, he announced a bug in how Symantec's scanning engine could be hacked as it sniffed through UPX-formatted files.

The_Neon_Cowboy · Dec 22, 2005, 08:10 AM

disable scanning for RAR files = will welcome welcome to infection with virues/threats too

Vikingod · Dec 22, 2005, 03:19 PM

please discuss here.

Dec 22, 2005, 06:03 AM	#1
edperks HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 780 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Symantec Antivirus Software Open To Attack Symantec Antivirus Software Open To Attack The bug, which could result in a completely compromised machine, remains unpatched, although Symantec has issued an advisory. Symantec's line of anti-virus software is vulnerable to attack, a prominent security researcher revealed Tuesday. The bug is currently unpatched, although Symantec has issued an advisory. The vulnerability, which was discovered and reported by Alex Wheeler, is in how Symantec's AntiVirus Library, part of all the Cupertino, Calif.-based security giant's anti-virus products, handles RAR compressed files. RAR files are created by the WinRAR compression utility, developed and sold by RarLab. The bug, labeled as "Highly critical" by Danish vulnerability tracker Secunia and "High" by Symantec itself, can cause a heap overflow, which then may let an attacker execute additional code. Bottom-line: the bug could result in a completely compromised machine. "The issues can be leveraged remotely to gain complete control over the affected system," Symantec wrote in an alert Tuesday morning to customers of its DeepSight Threat Management System. All editions of Symantec's Norton Internet Security and Norton AntiVirus, including AntiVirus for the Macintosh, are at risk, as are other products which include the Library. Those include such enterprise-specific lines as AntiVirus Corporate Edition, Brightmail Anti-Spam, Client Security, and Gateway Security. Symantec has not issued a patch for the vulnerability, but the DeepSight alert recommended that users disable scanning for RAR files Wheeler is well known among researchers for his probing of security software weaknesses. Earlier in 2005, he disclosed a slew of vulnerabilities in software from major vendors like McAfee, Kaspersky Labs, F-Secure, and Trend Micro. All the bugs he has discovered involve how the various anti-virus scanning engines handle compressed files. This is the second scanning vulnerability Wheeler has uncovered in Symantec's product line. In February, while working with Internet Security Systems, a Symantec rival, he announced a bug in how Symantec's scanning engine could be hacked as it sniffed through UPX-formatted files.

Dec 22, 2005, 08:10 AM	#2
The_Neon_Cowboy HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 16,009 Rep Power: 92 System Specs	disable scanning for RAR files = will welcome welcome to infection with virues/threats too __________________

Dec 22, 2005, 03:19 PM	#3
Vikingod Int'l Fish Liaison Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: By the light of lamp I sit and type... Posts: 16,197 Rep Power: 112 System Specs	Modified link to point to original post. please discuss here. Last edited by Iria; Dec 22, 2005 at 03:56 PM.