Symantec Critical System ProtectionApplication · Broadcom

CVE-2015-8799

HIGH · 7.6 CVSS v3.1 Published 2016-06-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.5.0 or later.
See remediation →
78/100
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
Directory traversal vulnerability in the Management Server in Symantec Embedded Security: Critical System Protection (SES:CSP) 1.0.x before 1.0 MP5, Embedded Security: Critical System Protection for Controllers and Devices (SES:CSP) 6.5.0 before MP1, Critical System Protection (SCSP) before 5.2.9 MP6, Data Center Security: Server Advanced Server (DCS:SA) 6.x before 6.5 MP1 and 6.6 before MP1, and Data Center Security: Server Advanced Server and Agents (DCS:SA) through 6.6 MP1 allows remote authenticated users to write update-package data to arbitrary agent locations via unspecified vectors.

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

Directory traversal vulnerability in the Management Server component of multiple Symantec security products (SES:CSP, SCSP, DCS:SA). Authenticated remote users can write update-package data to arbitrary filesystem locations by manipulating file paths with traversal sequences (e.g., ../../../'), bypassing intended path restrictions in the update mechanism.

MitigationApply vendor patches: MP5 for SES:CSP 1.0.x, MP1 for SES:CSP 6.5.0 and DCS:SA 6.x/6.6, MP6 for SCSP 5.2.x. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict management server administrative access to only trusted, verified users and implement file integrity monitoring on agent directories to detect unauthorized write operations.

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
Symantec Critical System ProtectionApplication
Affected:<= 5.2.9
Symantec Data Center Security ServerApplication
Affected:>= 6.0.0, < 6.5.0= 6.5.0= 6.6.0
Symantec Data Center Security Server And AgentsApplication
Affected:= 6.6.0
Symantec Embedded Security Critical System ProtectionOperating system
Affected:<= 1.0
Symantec Embedded Security Critical System Protection For Controllers And DevicesOperating system
Affected:= 6.5.0

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
Adjacent
Complexity
High
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/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. Identify installed Symantec product
    Locate the installed security product by checking installed programs or running 'sc query' for services related to 'Symantec', 'SCSP', 'DCS', or 'SES'
    Affected if The product is one of: Symantec Critical System Protection, Symantec Data Center Security Server, or Symantec Embedded Security Critical System Protection
  2. Determine Management Server version
    Check the Management Server component version - typically found in the program files directory, in an 'about' or 'version' file, or via the management console's version information panel
    Affected if Version is 5.2.9 or lower for SES:CSP, 6.0.0 through 6.6.0 (inclusive) for DCS:SA, 1.0 or lower for Embedded Security CSP, or exactly 6.5.0 for Embedded Security CSP For Controllers
  3. Verify Management Server is accessible
    Confirm the Management Server service is running and network-accessible. Check if the management port (typically 443 or 8443) is listening
    Affected if The Management Server service is running and exposed to network users (especially untrusted or external networks)
  4. Confirm update mechanism is enabled
    Check the management server configuration for update package functionality. This may be in the console under 'Updates', 'Policy', or 'Server Settings'
    Affected if Update mechanism or auto-update feature is enabled and configurable by authenticated users
  5. Review user access controls
    Audit accounts with permissions to upload or configure update packages in the Management Server console. Look for non-admin or untrusted accounts with update privileges
    Affected if There are authenticated users with update package privileges who are not fully trusted or verified

A user is affected if they have any of the listed product versions installed with the Management Server component running and accessible, particularly if untrusted or less-privileged users have access to the update configuration feature.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.5.0 or later
Fixed in 6.5.0
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor patches: MP5 for SES:CSP 1.0.x, MP1 for SES:CSP 6.5.0 and DCS:SA 6.x/6.6, MP6 for SCSP 5.2.x. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict management server administrative access to only trusted, verified users and implement file integrity monitoring on agent directories to detect unauthorized write operations.

Fix this in Symantec Critical System Protection Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-8799 — 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-2015-8799 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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