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Endpoint EncryptionApplication · Symantec

CVE-2015-8156

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-05-14
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Unquoted Windows search path vulnerability in EEDService in Symantec Endpoint Encryption (SEE) 11.x before 11.1.1 allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse executable file in the %SYSTEMDRIVE% directory, as demonstrated by program.exe.

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 EEDService in Symantec Endpoint Encryption 11.x before 11.1.1 contains an unquoted Windows service path vulnerability. When the service executable path contains spaces and is unquoted, Windows attempts to execute intermediate executables in path directories. Local attackers can place a malicious program.exe in the %SYSTEMDRIVE% directory, which Windows may execute with elevated (SYSTEM) privileges before finding the legitimate service executable.

MitigationUpgrade Symantec Endpoint Encryption to version 11.1.1 or later to obtain the patched EEDService with a properly quoted service path. As a compensating control, restrict write access to the %SYSTEMDRIVE% root directory to prevent placement of Trojan horse executables.

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
Endpoint EncryptionApplication
Affected:= 11.0= 11.0.0= 11.0.1

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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 checks

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

  1. Verify EEDService exists on the system
    Run 'sc query EEDService' in Command Prompt or 'Get-Service -Name EEDService' in PowerShell to query the Windows service
    Affected if The service is not found, indicating the product may not be installed or uses a different service name
  2. Check the executable path configured for EEDService
    Run 'sc qc EEDService' in Command Prompt or 'Get-WmiObject Win32_Service -Filter "Name='EEDService'" | Select-Object -ExpandProperty PathName' in PowerShell
    Affected if The displayed path contains spaces and is not enclosed in quotation marks (e.g., C:\Program Files\Symantec\...)
  3. Identify the installed version of Symantec Endpoint Encryption
    Check the Windows registry at 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Symantec\Symantec Endpoint Encryption\CurrentVersion' for the 'Version' value, or locate the installation directory and check file properties of the main executable
    Affected if The installed version is 11.0, 11.0.0, or 11.0.1 (versions prior to 11.1.1)
  4. Determine if the system drive root is writable
    Check permissions on the %SYSTEMDRIVE% root (commonly C:\) by right-clicking the drive, selecting Properties > Security, or using 'icacls C:\' in Command Prompt
    Affected if Users without administrator privileges can write files to the root directory, allowing placement of a malicious program.exe that could be executed

You are affected if EEDService is present with an unquoted executable path containing spaces AND the installed Symantec Endpoint Encryption version is 11.0.x (11.0, 11.0.0, or 11.0.1) AND the system drive root is writable by non-admin users.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Symantec Endpoint Encryption to version 11.1.1 or later to obtain the patched EEDService with a properly quoted service path. As a compensating control, restrict write access to the %SYSTEMDRIVE% root directory to prevent placement of Trojan horse executables.

Fix this in Endpoint Encryption Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,380
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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-2015-8156 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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