CVE-2018-12239
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 · uneditedNorton prior to 22.15; Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) prior to 12.1.7454.7000 & 14.2; Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition (SEP SBE) prior to NIS-22.15.1.8 & SEP-12.1.7454.7000; and Symantec Endpoint Protection Cloud (SEP Cloud) prior to 22.15.1 may be susceptible to an AV bypass issue, which is a type of exploit that works to circumvent one of the virus detection engines to avoid a specific type of virus protection. One of the antivirus engines depends on a signature pattern from a database to identify malicious files and viruses; the antivirus bypass exploit looks to alter the file being scanned so it is not detected.
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 an antivirus bypass vulnerability in Norton and Symantec Endpoint Protection products. The issue allows malicious files to evade detection by altering them so they are not matched by signature-based pattern databases used by one of the antivirus engines.
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>= 11.0, < 12.1.7454.7000>= 14.0, <= 14.2< 22.15.1< 22.15CVSS 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
- Physical
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/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 Norton or Symantec productOpen Control Panel > Programs and Features, or check the system tray for a Norton or Symantec icon. Look for 'Symantec Endpoint Protection', 'Symantec Endpoint Protection Cloud', or 'Norton Antivirus' in the installed programs list.Affected if The product name does not match one of the affected products (Symantec Endpoint Protection, Symantec Endpoint Protection Cloud, or Norton Antivirus)
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Check installed version of Symantec Endpoint ProtectionOpen the Symantec Endpoint Protection client, click Help > About Symantec Endpoint Protection. Alternatively, check the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Symantec\Symantec Endpoint Protection\CurrentVersion for the value 'PRODUCT_VERSION'.Affected if The version is >= 11.0 and < 12.1.7454.7000, OR >= 14.0 and <= 14.2
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Check installed version of Norton AntivirusOpen the Norton product, click Help > About Norton. Alternatively, check the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Norton\{product GUID}\Install\Version for the value 'Ver'.Affected if The version is less than 22.15
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Check installed version of Symantec Endpoint Protection CloudOpen the cloud product, check Help > About, or check the version through the management console if centrally managed.Affected if The version is less than 22.15.1
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Verify real-time protection is enabledOpen the Norton/Symantec client, go to Settings > Antivirus or Computer Protection, and confirm 'Real-Time Protection' or 'Auto-Protect' is turned ON.Affected if Real-time protection is disabled (the bypass only matters when the antivirus is actively scanning files)
You are affected if you have any of these products installed with a version in the affected ranges AND real-time protection is enabled.
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 data12.1.7454.700022.1522.15.1
Update Norton products to version 22.15 or later, and Symantec Endpoint Protection to version 12.1.7454.7000/14.2 or later to obtain the patched signature database.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-12239 — 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-2018-12239 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data