Symantec patches privilege escalation flaws in Endpoint Protection

The flaws, found by Offensive Security, affects Symantec Endpoint Protection client versions 11 and 12.1 and Symantec Endpoint Protection 12.0 Small Business Edition, according to an advisory.

Administrators will need to download the fix, called “Symantec Endpoint Protection 12.1 Release Update 4 Maintenance Patch 1b (RU4 MP1b),” from the company’s FileConnectservice. It upgrades Endpoint Protection clients to version 12.1.4112.4156.

The flaws were contained in the Application and Device Control driver. If exploited, the vulnerabilities could allow a person who is already logged on to gain higher access on a network and potentially system access. Offensive Security said it would then be possible for an attacker to dump password hashes or identify the cache credentials of domain administrators.

The security company found the vulnerability during a penetration test of a financial services company. Trainers with the company were due to give an overview including proof-of-concept code during a session at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas recently.

Source: Associated Press