CVE-2018-12238 Security feature bypass in Norton; Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP); Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition (SEP SBE); Symantec Endpoint Protection Cloud (SEP Cloud)

High 7.8 Published 29 Nov 2018 Updated 5 Aug 2024

Attackers can bypass antivirus detection by altering files to evade signature-based scanning in Symantec security products.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Any signed-in user
Attackable: Local or same network only
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: None listed

What is CVE-2018-12238?

CVE-2018-12238 is a high-severity vulnerability in Symantec Endpoint Protection, published on 29 Nov 2018. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

Norton prior to 22.15; Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) prior to 12.1.7454.7000 & 14.2; Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition (SEP SBE) prior to NIS-22.15.1.8 & SEP-12.1.7454.7000; and Symantec Endpoint Protection Cloud (SEP Cloud) prior to 22.15.1 may be susceptible to an AV bypass issue, which is a type of exploit that works to circumvent one of the virus detection engines to avoid a specific type of virus protection. One of the antivirus engines depends on a signature pattern from a database to identify malicious files and viruses; the antivirus bypass exploit looks to alter the file being scanned so it is not detected.

Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-12238?

It affects 3 products.

Products include Symantec Endpoint Protection, Symantec Endpoint Protection Cloud, Symantec Norton Antivirus.

How do I fix CVE-2018-12238?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-12238 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

Is CVE-2018-12238 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-12238 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Symantec Endpoint Protection vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as GHSA-grmv-v937-8mm8.