CVE-2016-5311 Privilege escalation in Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition Cloud, and Endpoint Protection Cloud Client

High 7.8 Published 9 Jan 2020 Updated 6 Aug 2024

Local attackers can gain system privileges via DLL preloading in Symantec Norton and Endpoint Protection products.

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: None listed

What is CVE-2016-5311?

CVE-2016-5311 is a high-severity vulnerability in Symantec Endpoint Protection, published on 9 Jan 2020. 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

A Privilege Escalation vulnerability exists in Symantec Norton Antivirus, Norton AntiVirus with Backup, Norton Security, Norton Security with Backup, Norton Internet Security, Norton 360, Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition Cloud, and Endpoint Protection Cloud Client due to a DLL-preloading without path restrictions, which could let a local malicious user obtain system privileges.

Weakness: CWE-427

Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-5311?

It affects 9 products.

Products include Symantec Endpoint Protection, Symantec Endpoint Protection Cloud, Symantec Norton 360, Symantec Norton Antivirus, Symantec Norton Antivirus With Backup, Symantec Norton Family and 3 more.

How do I fix CVE-2016-5311?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-5311 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

Is CVE-2016-5311 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-5311 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Symantec Endpoint Protection vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as GHSA-g7qp-85xf-w4q4.