CVE-2019-12752
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 Symantec SONAR component, prior to 12.0.2, may be susceptible to a tamper protection bypass vulnerability which could potentially allow an attacker to circumvent the existing tamper protection in use on the resident system.
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 confidenceThe Symantec SONAR (Symantec Online Network for Advanced Response) component, which provides behavioral malware detection, contains a tamper protection bypass vulnerability in versions prior to 12.0.2. This could allow a local or remote attacker to circumvent the existing tamper protection mechanisms, potentially disabling the security product's ability to detect and block malicious activity.
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< 12.0.2CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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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Verify Symantec Endpoint Protection is installedCheck for SEP client installation on the system. On Windows, look in Add/Remove Programs or check for SEP service running (services.msc look for 'Symantec Endpoint Protection' or 'SepMasterService').Affected if Symantec Endpoint Protection client is not installed or not found on the system.
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Identify the installed SEP or SONAR versionOpen the Symantec Endpoint Protection client UI, go to Help > About Symantec Endpoint Protection, or check the version via the system's installed programs list. The version format typically appears as xx.x.x.x (e.g., 12.1.x.x).Affected if The displayed version number is lower than 12.0.2 (for example, 12.0.1, 12.0, 11.x series).
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Confirm SONAR behavioral protection is enabledIn the SEP client, navigate to Antivirus and Antispyware Protection settings, or check if the SONAR feature is turned on in the policy. Alternatively, verify the SONAR service or driver is active.Affected if SONAR component is installed and enabled; if SONAR is disabled, the specific tamper protection bypass may not be exploitable in the same context.
A system is affected if it runs a version of Symantec Endpoint Protection with SONAR component prior to 12.0.2, and the SONAR behavioral detection feature 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 data12.0.2
Upgrade the Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) client to version 12.0.2 or later to obtain the patched SONAR component with corrected tamper protection.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-12752 — 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-2019-12752 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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