CVE-2017-15526
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 · uneditedPrior to SEE v11.1.3MP1, Symantec Endpoint Encryption can be susceptible to a null pointer de-reference issue, which can result in a NullPointerException that can lead to a privilege escalation scenario.
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 · moderate confidenceA null pointer dereference vulnerability in Symantec Endpoint Encryption versions prior to 11.1.3MP1 allows an attacker to trigger a NullPointerException that can be exploited for local privilege escalation, potentially allowing an unprivileged user to gain elevated system 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<= 11.1.3CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:L/PR:H/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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Confirm Symantec Endpoint Encryption is installedOn Windows, check the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for an entry named 'Symantec Endpoint Encryption' or use the 'Add or Remove Programs' list via Control Panel. Alternatively, run 'wmic product get name,version' to list installed software and search for 'Symantec Endpoint Encryption'.Affected if Symantec Endpoint Encryption is not present on the system, the vulnerability does not apply.
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Retrieve the installed version numberLocate the Symantec Endpoint Encryption entry in the registry or wmic output and note the version number displayed (typically shown in the Version or PSProps column). If a version number is not visible in the registry uninstall key, examine the product's main executable (commonly located in C:\Program Files\Symantec\Symantec Endpoint Encryption or C:\Program Files (x86)\Symantec\Symantec Endpoint Encryption) by right-clicking the .exe file, selecting Properties, and viewing the Details tab for the File Version.Affected if Unable to determine the version number means the product installation cannot be verified against the affected range.
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Compare the installed version against the affected rangeCompare the retrieved version to the affected range: versions prior to 11.1.3MP1 (including 11.1.3, 11.1.2, 11.1.1, 11.1.0, and earlier major versions) are vulnerable. The specific vulnerable threshold is anything less than 11.1.3MP1.Affected if The installed version is 11.1.3MP0 or earlier, meaning the version is less than 11.1.3MP1.
The system is affected if Symantec Endpoint Encryption is installed with a version number less than 11.1.3MP1, as versions prior to this release contain the exploitable null pointer dereference vulnerability.
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 Encryption to version 11.1.3MP1 or later to address the null pointer dereference vulnerability.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-15526 — 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-2017-15526 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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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
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