CVE-2016-9093
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 · uneditedA version of the SymEvent Driver that shipped with Symantec Endpoint Protection 12.1 RU6 MP6 and earlier fails to properly sanitize logged-in user input. SEP 14.0 and later are not impacted by this issue. A non-admin user would need to be able to save an executable file to disk and then be able to successfully run that file. If properly constructed, the file could access the driver interface and potentially manipulate certain system calls. On all 32-bit systems and in most cases on 64-bit systems, this will result in a denial of service that will crash the system. In very narrow circumstances, and on 64-bit systems only, this could allow the user to run arbitrary code on the local machine with kernel-level privileges. This could result in a non-privileged user gaining privileged access on the local machine.
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 confidenceA vulnerability exists in the SymEvent Driver shipped with Symantec Endpoint Protection 12.1 RU6 MP6 and earlier versions. The driver fails to properly sanitize user-supplied input that gets logged, allowing a non-admin user who can save and execute a specially crafted file to interact with the driver interface and manipulate system calls. On 32-bit systems and most 64-bit systems, this causes a kernel panic resulting in denial of service. On 64-bit systems under narrow circumstances, this enables local privilege escalation to 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<= 12.1.6= 12.1.6CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Verify Symantec Endpoint Protection is installedCheck for the presence of SEP client by looking for the installation directory (e.g., C:\Program Files\Symantec\Symantec Endpoint Protection\) or checking Windows services for 'Symantec Endpoint Protection' serviceAffected if SEP client is not found on the system, then this CVE does not apply
-
Determine the installed SEP versionOpen Windows Registry and navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Symantec\Symantec Endpoint Protection\SMC\VERSION or check the About dialog in the SEP client UI; look for a version string like 12.1.x.xAffected if The installed version is 12.1.6 (12.1.6.x) or any version lower than 12.1.6 (e.g., 12.1.5, 12.1.0), indicating the system falls within the affected range of <= 12.1.6
-
Confirm SymEvent driver is loadedOpen an elevated command prompt and run 'sc query SymEvent' or check Device Manager for 'SymEvent' under System devices; the driver name is SymEvent.sysAffected if The SymEvent driver is present and running on a version of SEP within the affected range, meaning the vulnerable driver component is active on the system
-
Assess user access contextIdentify if non-administrative users have the ability to save and execute files on the system; check group membership of standard users and file system permissions on user-writable directoriesAffected if Non-privileged users can save and execute arbitrary files, which is a required condition for exploitation of this vulnerability
A system is affected if it runs Symantec Endpoint Protection version 12.1.6 or earlier with the SymEvent driver loaded and allows non-admin users to save and execute files, enabling the attack vector for denial of service or privilege escalation.
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 to Symantec Endpoint Protection 14.0 or later, which is not affected by this vulnerability. Until then, restrict non-privileged users' ability to save and execute arbitrary files on endpoints.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-9093 — 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-2016-9093 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
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.
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