# CVE-2016-5309: Denial of service in n/a > Remote attackers can cause a denial of service via a crafted RAR file in Symantec security products due to an out-of-bounds read. - **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Not needed - **Attackable:** Local or same network only - **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something - **Fix available:** No - **Published:** 14 Apr 2017 - **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024 - **Also known as:** GHSA-v822-2p42-8376 ## What is CVE-2016-5309? CVE-2016-5309 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Symantec Endpoint Protection, published on 14 Apr 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link. ### Official description The RAR file parser component in the AntiVirus Decomposer engine in Symantec Advanced Threat Protection: Network (ATP); Symantec Email Security.Cloud; Symantec Data Center Security: Server; Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) for Windows before 12.1.6 MP5; Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) for Mac; Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) for Linux before 12.1.6 MP6; Symantec Endpoint Protection for Small Business Enterprise (SEP SBE/SEP.Cloud); Symantec Endpoint Protection Cloud (SEPC) for Windows/Mac; Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition 12.1; CSAPI before 10.0.4 HF02; Symantec Protection Engine (SPE) before 7.0.5 HF02, 7.5.x before 7.5.4 HF02, 7.5.5 before 7.5.5 HF01, and 7.8.x before 7.8.0 HF03; Symantec Mail Security for Domino (SMSDOM) before 8.0.9 HF2.1, 8.1.x before 8.1.2 HF2.3, and 8.1.3 before 8.1.3 HF2.2; Symantec Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange (SMSMSE) before 6.5.8_3968140 HF2.3, 7.x before 7.0_3966002 HF2.1, and 7.5.x before 7.5_3966008 VHF2.2; Symantec Protection for SharePoint Servers (SPSS) before SPSS_6.0.3_To_6.0.5_HF_2.5 update, 6.0.6 before 6.0.6 HF_2.6, and 6.0.7 before 6.0.7_HF_2.7; Symantec Messaging Gateway (SMG) before 10.6.2; Symantec Messaging Gateway for Service Providers (SMG-SP) before 10.5 patch 260 and 10.6 before patch 259; Symantec Web Gateway; and Symantec Web Security.Cloud allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds read) via a crafted RAR file that is mishandled during decompression. Weakness: CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-5309? It affects 15 products. Products: Broadcom Symantec Data Center Security Server, Symantec Advanced Threat Protection, Symantec Csapi, Symantec Email Security.cloud, Symantec Endpoint Protection, Symantec Endpoint Protection Cloud, Symantec Endpoint Protection for Small Business, Symantec Mail Security for Domino, Symantec Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange, Symantec Messaging Gateway, Symantec Messaging Gateway for Service Providers, Symantec Protection Engine, Symantec Protection for Sharepoint Servers, Symantec Web Gateway, Symantec Web Security.cloud. ## How do I fix CVE-2016-5309? No fix has been published for CVE-2016-5309 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available. ## Is CVE-2016-5309 being exploited? It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2016-5309 exists. Public exploit code: - Symantec RAR Decomposer Engine (Multiple Products) - Out-of-Bounds Read / Out-of-Bounds Write (exploitdb) ## Other vulnerabilities in Symantec Endpoint Protection - [CVE-2024-23617](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-23617/): Symantec Data Loss Prevention Buffer Overflow (critical 9.6) - [CVE-2016-5310](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-5310/): Memory corruption in n/a (medium 5.5) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2016-5309 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2016-5309 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Symantec Endpoint Protection, published on 14 Apr 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link. Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2016-5309 exists. Affected product: Symantec Endpoint Protection. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page. Task: 1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies. 2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it. 3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead. 4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why. 5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing. Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-5309/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-5309/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-5309 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-5309 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-5309 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-5309/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.