CVE-2015-8154
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 · uneditedThe SysPlant.sys driver in the Application and Device Control (ADC) component in the client in Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) 12.1 before RU6-MP4 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted HTML document, related to "RWX Permissions."
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 confidenceThe SysPlant.sys kernel driver in Symantec Endpoint Protection 12.1 ADC component contains a memory corruption vulnerability due to improper RWX (Read-Write-Execute) permissions on memory pages. Remote attackers can exploit this via crafted HTML documents to achieve arbitrary code execution with kernel-level privileges.
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<= 12.1CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 SysPlant.sys driver presenceSearch for SysPlant.sys file in the Windows System32\drivers directory or use: dir C:\Windows\System32\drivers\SysPlant.sysAffected if The file exists on the system, indicating the vulnerable driver component is installed
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Check installed Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager versionOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, locate 'Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager' and note the version, or run: about from the SEP manager consoleAffected if Version is 12.1 or any version <=12.1 without updates applied
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Confirm ADC component is loadedCheck Windows services for 'Symantec Endpoint Protection ADP' or 'ADC' service status, or view loaded kernel modules via: sc queryex type= serviceAffected if The ADC/ADP application control driver service is running or present
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Inspect SysPlant.sys driver file versionRight-click SysPlant.sys > Properties > Details tab to view File Version, or run: powershell (Get-Item 'C:\Windows\System32\drivers\SysPlant.sys').VersionInfoAffected if Driver file version corresponds to an unpatched 12.1 release (version not equal to RU6-MP4 or later build)
If SysPlant.sys driver exists and the Symantec Endpoint Protection Manager version is 12.1 without the RU6-MP4 patch applied, the system is vulnerable to kernel-level code execution via crafted HTML documents.
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 dataUpgrade Symantec Endpoint Protection to version 12.1 RU6-MP4 or later to obtain the patched SysPlant.sys driver with corrected memory permissions.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-8154 — 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-2015-8154 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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- 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
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