CVE-2020-5821
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 (SEP) and Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition (SEP SBE), prior to 14.2 RU2 MP1 and prior to 14.2.5569.2100 respectively, may be susceptible to a DLL injection vulnerability, which is a type of issue whereby an individual attempts to execute their own code in place of legitimate code as a means to perform an exploit.
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 DLL injection vulnerability in Symantec Endpoint Protection and Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition. An attacker could exploit this to execute arbitrary code by injecting their own code into legitimate DLLs. The vulnerability exists in versions prior to 14.2 RU2 MP1 for SEP and prior to 14.2.5569.2100 for SEP SBE.
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= 14.0.0= 14.0.1= 14.2= 12.0CVSS 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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Check installed SEP version via registryOpen Windows Registry Editor and navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Symantec\Symantec Endpoint Protection\CurrentVersion. Look for the "ProductVersion" value.Affected if ProductVersion shows 11.0, 12.0, 12.1, 14.0.0, 14.0.1, or 14.2 without RU2 MP1 applied
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Check SEP build numberIn the same registry path, locate the "ProductBuild" or "Version" value to get the full build number (e.g., 14.2.xxxx).Affected if Build number is below the fixed versions (14.2 RU2 MP1 for SEP, 14.2.5569.2100 for SEP SBE)
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Verify SEP SBE version if using Small Business EditionCheck HKLM\SOFTWARE\Symantec\Symantec Endpoint Protection\SBE\CurrentVersion for the "ProductVersion" value.Affected if Version is any build prior to 14.2.5569.2100
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Confirm via SymCorp UI if availableOpen the Symantec Endpoint Protection client, click Help, then About Symantec Endpoint Protection to view the exact version and build number.Affected if Version displayed is any release prior to 14.2 RU2 MP1 (for SEP) or prior to 14.2.5569.2100 (for SEP SBE)
The environment is affected if the installed Symantec Endpoint Protection version is 11.0, 12.0, 12.1, 14.0.x, or 14.2 prior to RU2 MP1, or SEP SBE prior to 14.2.5569.2100.
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 dataUpdate Symantec Endpoint Protection to version 14.2 RU2 MP1 or later (for SEP SBE to 14.2.5569.2100 or later) to remediate this vulnerability.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,808.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-5821 — 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-2020-5821 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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