CVE-2018-12240
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 · uneditedThe Norton Identity Safe product prior to 5.3.0.976 may be susceptible to a privilege escalation issue via a hard coded IV, which is a type of vulnerability that can potentially increase the likelihood of encrypted data being recovered without adequate credentials.
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 confidenceThe Norton Identity Safe product prior to version 5.3.0.976 contains a hardcoded initialization vector (IV) in its encryption implementation. This cryptographic weakness reduces the effective strength of encryption, potentially allowing encrypted sensitive data (such as stored credentials) to be recovered without proper authentication.
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< 5.3.0.976CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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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Verify Norton Password Manager is installedCheck the system for Norton Identity Safe or Norton Password Manager software. On Windows, open Programs and Features (Add or Remove Programs) and look for entries containing 'Norton Identity Safe' or 'Norton Password Manager'. Alternatively, check for Norton installation directories under Program Files or Program Files (x86).Affected if The software is not present on the system.
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Locate the installed version numberIn Windows Programs and Features, click on the Norton Identity Safe or Norton Password Manager entry to view the version information. The version is typically displayed in the column or details pane. If available, right-click and select Properties to view version details.Affected if Unable to determine the installed version.
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Compare version against the affected rangeCompare the installed version number to 5.3.0.976. The affected versions are any version less than 5.3.0.976 (for example, 5.3.0.900, 5.2.0.456, etc.). Note that version strings may be formatted differently - ensure you are comparing the numeric components correctly.Affected if Installed version is a lower numerical value than 5.3.0.976 (for example, 5.2.x.x or 5.1.x.x).
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Confirm credentials are stored in the applicationCheck if the Norton Password Manager has stored any saved passwords, form fill data, or other sensitive credentials. Open the Norton Identity Safe vault or password manager interface and verify if any credentials exist. The vulnerability affects the encryption of stored data.Affected if The application contains stored credentials that would be encrypted using the vulnerable implementation.
A system is affected if Norton Identity Safe or Norton Password Manager is installed with a version number lower than 5.3.0.976 and contains stored credentials that rely on the encryption feature.
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 data5.3.0.976
Upgrade Norton Identity Safe to version 5.3.0.976 or later to obtain the patched cryptographic implementation that uses properly generated IVs.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-12240 — 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-2018-12240 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data