AntivirusApplication · Symantec

CVE-2010-0111

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2011-01-31
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
HDNLRSVC.EXE in the Intel Alert Handler service (aka Symantec Intel Handler service) in Intel Alert Management System (aka AMS or AMS2), as used in Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition (SAVCE) 10.x before 10.1 MR10, Symantec System Center (SSC) 10.x, and Symantec Quarantine Server 3.5 and 3.6, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary programs by sending msgsys.exe a UNC share pathname, which is used directly in a CreateProcessA (aka CreateProcess) call.

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

The Intel Alert Handler service (HDNLRSVC.EXE) in Symantec Alert Management System accepts a UNC share pathname from remote attackers and passes it directly to CreateProcessA without validation, allowing arbitrary code execution.

MitigationApply vendor patch (Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 10.1 MR10 or later, or upgrade to supported versions). If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict network access to the Intel Alert Handler service.

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:= 10.0= 10.0.1= 10.0.1.1= 10.0.1.2= 10.0.2= 10.0.2.1= 10.0.2.2= 10.0.3= 10.0.4= 10.0.5= 10.0.6= 10.0.7
System CenterApplication
Affected:= 10.0= 10.1
Antivirus Central Quarantine ServerApplication
Affected:= 3.5= 3.6

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. Verify Intel Alert Handler service is installed
    Open Windows Services console (services.msc) and look for 'Intel Alert Handler' service, or check for HDNLRSVC.EXE process in Task Manager
    Affected if The service or process named 'Intel Alert Handler' or HDNLRSVC.EXE is present on the system
  2. Check installed Symantec Antivirus version
    Open Windows Control Panel, go to Add/Remove Programs (or Programs and Features), locate 'Symantec AntiVirus' or 'Symantec Antivirus Corporate Edition' and note the version number
    Affected if The installed version matches 10.0, 10.0.1, 10.0.1.1, 10.0.1.2, 10.0.2, 10.0.2.1, 10.0.2.2, 10.0.3, 10.0.4, 10.0.5, 10.0.6, or 10.0.7
  3. Check installed Symantec System Center version
    Open Add/Remove Programs and locate 'Symantec System Center', note the version number
    Affected if The installed version is 10.0 or 10.1
  4. Check installed Central Quarantine Server version
    Open Add/Remove Programs and locate 'Symantec Antivirus Central Quarantine Server', note the version number
    Affected if The installed version is 3.5 or 3.6
  5. Verify network exposure of the Alert Handler service
    Use command 'netstat -an' or a network port scanner to check if port 5000 (default Intel Alert Handler port) or related ports are listening on network interfaces
    Affected if The Intel Alert Handler service is listening on a reachable network port (not localhost only)
  6. Confirm vulnerable service executable exists
    Check for the presence of HDNLRSVC.EXE in the Symantec installation directory (typically in C:\Program Files\Symantec\ or C:\Program Files\Symantec AntiVirus\)
    Affected if HDNLRSVC.EXE exists in the Symantec program directory

The system is affected if Intel Alert Handler service (HDNLRSVC.EXE) is running AND the installed product version matches one of the listed vulnerable versions AND the service is network-accessible.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor patch (Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 10.1 MR10 or later, or upgrade to supported versions). If immediate patching is not feasible, restrict network access to the Intel Alert Handler service.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 10.1 MR10 or later; Symantec System Center 10.1 or later; Symantec Quarantine Server 3.6.1 or later

  1. 1. Identify all affected systems running Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 10.x, Symantec System Center 10.x, or Symantec Quarantine Server 3.5/3.6
  2. 2. Verify current installed versions on each affected system
  3. 3. Contact Symantec support or visit the official security advisory page to obtain the patched version (10.1 MR10 or later)
  4. 4. Download the appropriate patch or upgrade package for your specific product version
  5. 5. Test the patch in a non-production environment before deploying
  6. 6. Apply the patch/upgrade to production systems following standard change management procedures
  7. 7. Verify the update was successfully applied and the service is running correctly
Caveat Older unsupported versions may require full upgrade rather than incremental patch; test thoroughly in lab environment

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

Fix this in Antivirus Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2010-0111 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