CVE-2019-9698
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 AV Engine, prior to 13.0.9r17, may be susceptible to an arbitrary file deletion issue, which is a type of vulnerability that could allow an attacker to delete files on the resident system without elevated privileges.
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 confidenceSymantec Anti-Virus Engine versions prior to 13.0.9r17 contain an arbitrary file deletion vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to delete files on the affected system without requiring elevated privileges.
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< 13.0.9r17CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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.
-
Identify if Symantec Anti-Virus Engine is installedCheck the system for presence of Symantec antivirus software. On Windows, look in Add/Remove Programs or check for Symantec processes/services (such as symantec antivirus, SAV, or related services). On Linux/Unix, check for RPM/DEB packages or installation directories related to Symantec.Affected if Symantec Anti-Virus Engine is present on the system
-
Locate the engine version informationAccess the engine version through the antivirus client interface (typically found in Help > About or similar), or check via command-line if supported (such as running the antivirus CLI tool with version flags). On Windows, also check the file version of the main engine DLL files in the installation directory.Affected if The version cannot be determined or the engine is found but version info is inaccessible
-
Compare installed version against 13.0.9r17Take the identified version number and compare it numerically to 13.0.9r17. Note that any version prior to 13.0.9r17 (such as 13.0.9r16, 13.0.x, 12.x, etc.) is considered affected.Affected if The installed version is less than 13.0.9r17 (e.g., 13.0.9r16, 13.0.8, 12.x, or any earlier release)
-
Confirm the engine is running and accessibleVerify the antivirus engine process is active and the management interface or service port is accessible. This vulnerability can be exploited by unauthenticated attackers who can reach the engine service.Affected if The engine is running and network-accessible or has an exposed management interface
If Symantec Anti-Virus Engine is installed and the version is found to be lower than 13.0.9r17, the environment is affected by this 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 data13.0.9r17
Upgrade Symantec Anti-Virus Engine to version 13.0.9r17 or later to remediate this vulnerability.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-9698 — 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-2019-9698 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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