CVE-2012-0304
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 · uneditedSymantec LiveUpdate Administrator before 2.3.1 uses weak permissions (Everyone: Full Control) for the installation directory, which allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse file.
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 confidenceSymantec LiveUpdate Administrator versions prior to 2.3.1 set overly permissive NTFS access controls on the installation directory, granting Everyone: Full Control permissions. This allows any local user on the system to write executable files to the directory. A local attacker could place a malicious executable (Trojan horse) in the installation folder, which would then be executed with elevated privileges when an administrator runs the legitimate software or an update.
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<= 2.3.0= 1.5.3.21= 1.5.4= 1.5.7.19= 2.1.0= 2.1.2= 2.1.3= 2.2.1= 2.2.2= 2.2.2.9CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Symantec LiveUpdate Administrator installationCheck for the presence of the product in Add/Remove Programs (Windows) or look for the installation directory, typically under C:\Program Files\Symantec\LiveUpdate Administrator or similar paths.Affected if The software is installed on the system.
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Identify installed versionLocate the version information in the product itself, typically found in an About or Version file within the installation directory, or via the Windows Add/Remove Programs entry.Affected if The installed version matches any of the following: 1.5.3.21, 1.5.4, 1.5.7.19, 2.1.0, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.2.1, 2.2.2, 2.2.2.9, or any version 2.3.0 or earlier.
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Examine NTFS permissions on installation directoryRight-click the installation folder, select Properties, go to the Security tab, and inspect the entries in the Group or user names list. Look for an entry labeled 'Everyone' or 'Everyone (EXTRACT)' and check its Permissions column.Affected if The Everyone group is listed and has Allow permissions for Full Control, Modify, or Write.
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Check for privilege escalation vectorAs a standard (non-admin) user, attempt to create a test file in the LiveUpdate Administrator installation directory to verify write access.Affected if A non-administrative user can successfully write files to the directory.
The system is affected if Symantec LiveUpdate Administrator is installed with a version listed as vulnerable AND the installation directory grants Everyone group Full Control, Modify, or Write permissions, allowing any local user to place executable files that run with elevated privileges.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataApply proper NTFS permissions to the installation directory by removing the Everyone group and restricting access to Administrators and SYSTEM only, or upgrade to version 2.3.1 or later which contains corrected permission settings.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-0304 — 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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2012-0304 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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