CVE-2017-13681
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 Endpoint Protection prior to SEP 12.1 RU6 MP9 could be susceptible to a privilege escalation vulnerability, which is a type of issue that allows a user to gain elevated access to resources that are normally protected at lower access levels. In the circumstances of this issue, the capability of exploit is limited by the need to perform multiple file and directory writes to the local filesystem and as such, is not feasible in a standard drive-by type attack.
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 confidenceThis is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Symantec Endpoint Protection versions prior to 12.1 RU6 MP9. An attacker with the ability to perform multiple file and directory writes to the local filesystem could potentially elevate their privileges. The attack is not feasible as a remote drive-by attack due to the required local filesystem access.
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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed Symantec Endpoint Protection versionOpen the Symantec Endpoint Protection client, right-click the shield icon in the system tray, and select 'About Symantec Endpoint Protection' to view the exact version and build numberAffected if The displayed version is earlier than 12.1 RU6 MP9 or falls below the 12.1 release line
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Check version via command lineOpen a command prompt and run 'smc -version' if the management client is installed, or navigate to the installation directory and locate the version informationAffected if The reported version is earlier than 12.1 RU6 MP9
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Determine if local filesystem write access exists for non-administratorsReview system permissions to confirm whether standard user accounts have the ability to perform multiple file and directory write operations on the local systemAffected if Non-privileged users can write to multiple filesystem locations AND the installed version is below 12.1 RU6 MP9
A system is affected if it runs any version of Symantec Endpoint Protection earlier than 12.1 RU6 MP9 and allows non-administrator users to perform multiple filesystem write operations
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 data12.1
Upgrade Symantec Endpoint Protection to version 12.1 RU6 MP9 or later to remediate this vulnerability.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-13681 — 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-2017-13681 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
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