AntivirusApplication · Symantec

CVE-2009-1430

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2009-04-29
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 11.0 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
High EPSS Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Multiple stack-based buffer overflows in IAO.EXE in the Intel Alert Originator Service in Symantec Alert Management System 2 (AMS2), as used in Symantec System Center (SSS); Symantec AntiVirus Server; Symantec AntiVirus Central Quarantine Server; Symantec AntiVirus (SAV) Corporate Edition 9 before 9.0 MR7, 10.0 and 10.1 before 10.1 MR8, and 10.2 before 10.2 MR2; Symantec Client Security (SCS) 2 before 2.0 MR7 and 3 before 3.1 MR8; and Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) before 11.0 MR3, allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via (1) a crafted packet or (2) data that ostensibly arrives from the MsgSys.exe process.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Stack-based buffer overflow in IAO.EXE (Intel Alert Originator) in Symantec Alert Management System 2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted packets or malicious data from the MsgSys.exe process. The vulnerability affects multiple enterprise antivirus and security products from Symantec.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied patches (MR7/MR8/MR3 depending on product version) to upgrade to patched versions of the affected Symantec products, or disable the Alert Management System service if not required.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
AntivirusApplication
Affected:<= 9.0<= 10.1<= 10.2all versions= 10.0= 10.0.1= 10.0.1.1= 10.0.2= 10.0.2.1= 10.0.2.2= 10.0.3= 10.0.4
Antivirus Central Quarantine ServerApplication
Affected:all versions
Client SecurityApplication
Affected:<= 3.1= 2.0= 3.0= 3.0.0.359= 3.0.1.1000= 3.0.1.1001= 3.0.1.1007= 3.0.1.1008= 3.0.1.1009= 3.0.2= 3.0.2.2000= 3.0.2.2001
Endpoint ProtectionApplication
Affected:<= 11.0
System CenterApplication
Affected:all versions

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Symantec product and version
    Check Windows registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Symantec\InstalledApps for product names, and version in HKLM\SOFTWARE\Symantec\Version (or similar path under the specific product key)
    Affected if Product is one of: Symantec Antivirus (versions <=9.0, <=10.1, <=10.2, 10.0.x, 10.0.1.x, 10.0.2.x, 10.0.3, 10.0.4), Symantec Antivirus Central Quarantine Server (any version), Symantec Client Security (versions <=3.1, 2.0, 3.0.x, 3.0.0.359, 3.0.1.x, 3.0.2.x), Symantec Endpoint Protection (<=11.0), o
  2. Verify Alert Management System component is present
    Check for existence of IAO.EXE in the Symantec product installation directory (typically in C:\Program Files\Symantec\ or subdirectories such as\Symantec Endpoint Protection\ or\Symantec\Alert Management System\)
    Affected if IAO.EXE file exists in the installation directory, indicating the vulnerable component is present
  3. Check if Alert Management System service is running
    Open Services control panel or run 'sc query' command and look for a service named 'Alert Management System' or 'Symantec Alert Management System' and check its status
    Affected if The Alert Management System service is installed and running
  4. Detect IAO.EXE and MsgSys.exe processes
    Open Task Manager or run 'tasklist' command and look for processes named IAO.EXE and MsgSys.exe
    Affected if Both IAO.EXE and MsgSys.exe processes are actively running, confirming the vulnerable code path is in use

You are affected if you have any of the listed Symantec products in the vulnerable version ranges AND the IAO.EXE component (Alert Management System) is present and running.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 11.0
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied patches (MR7/MR8/MR3 depending on product version) to upgrade to patched versions of the affected Symantec products, or disable the Alert Management System service if not required.

Recommended fix High confidence

Product-specific MR (Maintenance Release) versions: 9.0 MR7, 10.1 MR8, 10.2 MR2, 2.0 MR7, 3.1 MR8, or 11.0 MR3 (whichever applies to your product line)

  1. Identify the specific Symantec product and current version from the affected list (Antivirus, Client Security, Endpoint Protection, or System Center)
  2. For Symantec AntiVirus 9.x: upgrade to version 9.0 MR7 or later
  3. For Symantec AntiVirus 10.0/10.1: upgrade to version 10.1 MR8 or later
  4. For Symantec AntiVirus 10.2: upgrade to version 10.2 MR2 or later
  5. For Symantec Client Security 2.x: upgrade to version 2.0 MR7 or later
  6. For Symantec Client Security 3.x: upgrade to version 3.1 MR8 or later
  7. For Symantec Endpoint Protection: upgrade to version 11.0 MR3 or later
  8. For Symantec AntiVirus Central Quarantine Server: contact Symantec for specific patch or upgrade path
Caveat Old CVE from 2009 - ensure compatibility with legacy systems before upgrading; some older platforms may not support newer MR versions

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Antivirus Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2009-1430 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2009-1430 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data