# CVE-2019-9702: Privilege escalation in Endpoint Encryption

> A privilege escalation vulnerability in Symantec Endpoint Encryption allows users to gain elevated access to protected resources.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 1 Jul 2019
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-m22v-qp85-pc3w

## What is CVE-2019-9702?

CVE-2019-9702 is a high-severity vulnerability in Symantec Endpoint Encryption, published on 1 Jul 2019. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Symantec Endpoint Encryption, prior to SEE 11.3.0, may be susceptible to a privilege escalation vulnerability, which is a type of issue that allows a user to gain elevated access to resources that are normally protected at lower access levels.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2019-9702?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Symantec Endpoint Encryption.

## How do I fix CVE-2019-9702?

No fix has been published for CVE-2019-9702 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2019-9702 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-9702 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Public exploit code:

- Local Privilege Escalation PoC to pop a SYSTEM shell for CVE-2019-9702 in Symantec Encryption Desktop. (github_poc): https://github.com/DavidCarliez/CVE-2019-9702_Symantec_Encryption_Desktop_LPE_PoC

## Other vulnerabilities in Symantec Endpoint Encryption

- [CVE-2019-9703](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-9703/): Symantec Endpoint Encryption, prior to SEE 11.3.0, may be susceptible to a privilege escalation vulnerability, which is a type of issue that (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2019-9694](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-9694/): Privilege escalation in Symantec Endpoint Encryption (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2015-8156](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-8156/): Privilege escalation in n/a (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2017-15526](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-15526/): Null dereference in Symantec Endpoint Encryption (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2017-13683](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-13683/): Information disclosure in Symantec Endpoint Encryption (medium 5.7)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2019-9702 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2019-9702 is a high-severity vulnerability in Symantec Endpoint Encryption, published on 1 Jul 2019. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2019-9702 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Symantec Endpoint Encryption. 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-2019-9702/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-9702/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-9702
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-9702
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2019-9702

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-9702/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.