CVE-2019-18372
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 14.2 RU2, may be susceptible to a privilege escalation vulnerability, which is a type of issue whereby an attacker may attempt to compromise the software application to gain elevated access to resources that are normally protected from an application or user.
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 confidenceThis is a privilege escalation vulnerability in Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) versions prior to 14.2 RU2. An attacker who already has limited access to the system could potentially exploit this vulnerability to gain elevated privileges, accessing resources and capabilities that should be restricted from standard users.
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<= 14.2= 14.2CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/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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Confirm SEP installationCheck if Symantec Endpoint Protection is installed by looking for the service 'Symantec Endpoint Protection' in Windows Services (services.msc) or checking for the installation directory typically at C:\Program Files\Symantec\Symantec Endpoint Protection\Affected if Symantec Endpoint Protection is not installed on the system
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Determine SEP version via command lineOpen a command prompt and run: smc -version. This command displays the installed version and build number of Symantec Endpoint Protection.Affected if The version displayed is 14.2 or earlier (any version prior to 14.2 RU2)
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Verify version via Windows registryOpen Registry Editor (regedit) and navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Symantec\Symantec Endpoint Protection\CurrentVersion. Look for the string value 'PRODUCT_VERSION' to read the exact version number.Affected if The PRODUCT_VERSION value is 14.2 or lower (for example, 14.0, 14.1, or 14.2)
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Confirm the exact RU2 patch levelIf the version shows 14.2, check for the specific RU2 build. In the same registry path, look for 'PRODUCT_VERSION' or 'LIVEUPDATE_VERSION' to determine if RU2 (14.2 RU2) is installed. Alternatively, in the SEP client GUI, go to Help > About Symantec Endpoint Protection to view the full version string including RU2.Affected if The version is 14.2 without RU2 patch (14.2 RU1, 14.2 base, or earlier)
The system is affected if Symantec Endpoint Protection version is 14.2 or earlier, meaning any version below 14.2 RU2.
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 Protection to version 14.2 RU2 or later to remediate this vulnerability.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,608.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-18372 — 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-2019-18372 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
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