CVE-2020-5836
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 14.3, can potentially reset the ACLs on a file as a limited user while Symantec Endpoint Protection's Tamper Protection feature is disabled.
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 confidenceIn Symantec Endpoint Protection versions prior to 14.3, a limited (non-privileged) user can reset Access Control Lists (ACLs) on files when the Tamper Protection feature is disabled, potentially allowing privilege escalation by modifying permissions on protected system files.
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< 14.3CVSS 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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Verify Symantec Endpoint Protection is installedCheck for the presence of Symantec Endpoint Protection client on the system - look in Programs and Features, or check for SepUSB or similar service processes running.Affected if SEP is not installed on the system
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Check the installed SEP versionOpen the SEP client UI and view About information, or check the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Symantec\Symantec Endpoint Protection\SMC\Version for the installed version string.Affected if The version is below 14.3 (e.g., 14.2, 14.0, 12.x, etc.)
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Determine if Tamper Protection is enabledOpen the SEP client, go to Change Settings > Configure Tamper Protection, or check the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Symantec\Symantec Endpoint Protection\CurrentVersion\Administrator\TamperProtection\Enable for a value of 0 (disabled) or 1 (enabled).Affected if Tamper Protection is disabled (set to 0 or unchecked in client)
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Identify if non-privileged users can modify ACLs on protected filesAs a limited user without administrator rights, attempt to take ownership or modify permissions on a system file such as %SystemRoot%\System32\config, or run 'icacls <system_file>' to verify current ACL restrictions.Affected if Non-privileged users can successfully reset ACLs on files that should be protected
The system is affected if Symantec Endpoint Protection is installed with a version prior to 14.3 AND Tamper Protection is currently disabled, allowing any limited user to modify file permissions.
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 data14.3
Ensure Tamper Protection is enabled in Symantec Endpoint Protection, or upgrade to version 14.3 or later to remediate this vulnerability.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-5836 — 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-2020-5836 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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