The flaw could be exploited by simply sending a malicious email or tricking users to visit a link The antivirus engine used in multiple Symantec products has an easy-to-exploit vulnerability that could allow hackers to easily compromise computers. The flaw was fixed by Symantec in Anti-Virus Engine (AVE) version 20151.1.1.4, released Monday via LiveUpdate. The flaw consists of a buffer overflow condition that could be triggered when parsing executable files with malformed headers. According to Google security engineer Tavis Ormandy, who found the flaw, the vulnerability can be exploited remotely to execute malicious code on computers. All it takes is for the attacker to send an email with the exploit file as attachment or to convince the user to visit a malicious link. Executing the file is not necessary, because the antivirus engine uses a driver to intercept all system input and output operations and will automatically scan the file as soon as it reaches the file system in any way. The file extension doesn’t matter, as long as the file has a header identifying it as a portable executable file packed with ASPack, a commercial compressor utility. The worst part about it is that the Symantec AVE unpacks such files inside the kernel, the highest privileged region of the OS. This means that successful exploitation can lead to a full system compromise. “On Linux, Mac and other UNIX platforms, this results in a remote heap overflow as root in the Symantec or Norton process,” Ormandy said in an advisory. “On Windows, this results in kernel memory corruption, as the scan engine is loaded into the kernel, making this a remote ring0 memory corruption vulnerability — this is about as bad as it can possibly get.” Symantec has rated the vulnerability with a 9.1 severity score out of 10 in the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS). “The most common symptom of a successful attack would result in an immediate system crash, aka. Blue Screen of Death (BSOD),” the company said in its own advisory. Users should make sure that they install the latest available updates available for their Symantec antivirus products and can check the version of the AVE using instructions on Symantec’s support website. This is the latest in a long string of critical vulnerabilities found by Ormandy and other security researchers in antivirus products in recent years. Most of them have criticized antivirus vendors for continuing to perform dangerous file scanning operations, which historically have resulted in vulnerabilities, using kernel privileges. Related content news Hitachi Vantara launches unified storage platform Virtual Storage Platform One provides on-premises and cloud storage of both structured and unstructured data. By Andy Patrizio Apr 26, 2024 2 mins Enterprise Storage Data Center analysis Extreme demos AI-based network assistant Extreme AI Expert can answer network questions, troubleshoot operations, and create alerts for conditions such as network degradation or Wi-Fi dead spots. By Michael Cooney Apr 25, 2024 4 mins Network Management Software news Cradlepoint unveils 5G SASE platform for mobile, distributed environments NetCloud SASE integrates cellular SD-WAN and security capabilities into a cloud-based platform to secure and mitigate risk across managed and unmanaged devices. By Denise Dubie Apr 24, 2024 3 mins 5G SASE SD-WAN analysis IBM drops $6.4B for HashiCorp and its multicloud automation technology HashiCorp's automation technology will fit into IBM’s Red Hat, watsonx, data security, IT automation and consulting businesses. By Michael Cooney Apr 24, 2024 3 mins Data Center Automation Network Management Software Cloud Computing PODCASTS VIDEOS RESOURCES EVENTS NEWSLETTERS Newsletter Promo Module Test Description for newsletter promo module. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe