March 2005

ID: 00252
Ref: 231/05
Date: 29 March 2005:16:51:28
Version: 1

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Title: Symantec - Denial of Service in Symantec Norton AntiVirus AutoProtect (SYM05-006)
Abstract: Symantec responded to two denial of service (DoS) issues identified in the AutoProtect functionality of the Symantec Norton AntiVirus consumer product.
Vendors affected: Symantec
Operating systems affected: Symantec
Applications affected: Symantec

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Title
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Symantec - Denial of Service in Symantec Norton AntiVirus AutoProtect (SYM05-006)

Detail
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PLEASE NOTE - The following is a plain text copy of a Symantec Security Response
web page, which is located at:
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/security/Content/2005.03.28.html



SYM05-006
March 28, 2005
Denial of Service in Symantec Norton AntiVirus AutoProtect

Revision History
None

Risk Impact
Low

Overview
Symantec responded to two denial of service (DoS) issues identified in the AutoProtect
functionality of the Symantec Norton AntiVirus consumer product. The
Information-Technology Promotion Agency-Japan, IPA, reported one situation where a
real time scan of a specific file type can cause a system crash, Blue Screen of Death
(BSOD), with both Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2004 and 2005 Windows applications. This
type of file, while not malicious on it's own, could be maliciously introduced either
remotely from outside the system through email or over http, or internally by an
authorized user to disrupt service on a targeted system.

Scanning specific file modifications using the "SmartScan" feature of AutoProtect in
the Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2005 application can cause the other DoS issue reported
by the Japan Computer Emergency Response team, JPCERT. Any malicious use of this DoS
would require authorized access to the targeted system to implement.

Affected Products
Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2004
Symantec Norton Internet Security 2004 (Professional)
Symantec Norton System Works 2004 (Professional)
Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2005
Symantec Norton Internet Security 2005
Symantec Norton System Works 2005 (Premier)

Details

Issue One:
JPCERT reported a DoS, impacting Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2004 and 2005 products,
that occurs when the Auto-Protect module of Symantec Norton AntiVirus scans a specific
file type.

Symantec Auto-Protect module loads in Windows as a virtual device driver. Running in the
background, Auto-Protect scans files for viruses, Trojan, and worms. Auto-Protect scans
any files that are received from any source, such as the Internet, removable disks, or
email attachments and scans any time that files are accessed, such as when a file is
copied, moved, run, or opened. Auto-Protect intercepts any run, open, or create activity
and scans the file before allowing the action to continue.

In the issue, when Auto-Protect was invoked to scan a particular file type, e.g.
introduced on a CD, copied and pasted into the system, etc., the resultant scan caused
the system to hang and generate a general protection fault error, or BSOD requiring a
system reboot to clear.


Issue Two:
IPA reported a DoS problem that impacts Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2005 products and only
when the SmartScan feature of AutoProtect is enabled.

SmartScan was developed as an alternative to the "scan all files" feature of NAV
Auto-Protect and Manual Scan. SmartScan scans a specific group of file extensions as
well as all .exe and .doc files. SmartScan will scan .exe and .doc files even if the
file extensions for the .exe and .doc files have been changed.

In this instance, under certain circumstances with SmartScan enabled, renaming a file
stored on a network share can induce a system crash when the modification kicks off
SmartScan. Based on the file write for the name change, SmartScan will be invoked to
scan the file, which can result in excess CPU consumption and ultimately a system crash.

Symantec Response
Symantec product engineers confirmed both issues impacting Symantec's Auto-Protect feature
in Symantec Norton AntiVirus and have developed and released a patch for all impacted
products through Symantec LiveUpdate. Customers running Automatic LiveUpdate should
already be updated.

To manually update via Symantec LiveUpdate, users should:

Open any installed Symantec product
Click on LiveUpdate in the toolbar
Run LiveUpdate until all available Symantec product updates are downloaded and installed
Symantec is unaware of any adverse customer impact from either of these issues

CVE
A CVE candidate number will be requested from The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures
(CVE) initiative. This advisory will be revised as required once the CVE candidate number
has been assigned. This issue is a candidate for inclusion in the CVE list
(http://cve.mitre.org), which standardizes names for security problems.

Credit
Symantec would like to thank Mr. Isamu Noguchi for working with both the
Information-Technology Promotion Agency-Japan and JPCERT in identifying these
issues and IPA and JPCERT for notifying Symantec and providing the coordination
while Symantec resolved the issues.


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Symantec takes the security and proper functionality of its products very seriously.
As founding members of the Organization for Internet Safety (OISafety), Symantec follows
the principles of responsible disclosure. Symantec also subscribes to the vulnerability
guidelines outlined by the National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC). Please contact
secure@symantec.com if you feel you have discovered a potential or actual security issue
with a Symantec product. A Symantec Product Security team member will contact you
regarding your submission.

Symantec has developed a Product Vulnerability Handling Process document outlining the
process we follow in addressing suspected vulnerabilities in our products. We support
responsible disclosure of all vulnerability information in a timely manner to protect
Symantec customers and the security of the Internet as a result of vulnerability. This
document is available from the location provided below.

Symantec strongly recommends using encrypted email for reporting vulnerability information
to secure@symantec.com. The Symantec Product Security PGP key can be obtained from the
location provided below.

- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright (c) 2005 by Symantec Corp.
Permission to redistribute this alert electronically is granted as long as it is
not edited in any way unless authorized by Symantec Security Response. Reprinting the
whole or part of this alert in any medium other than electronically requires permission
from secure@symantec.com.

Disclaimer
The information in the advisory is believed to be accurate at the time of publishing
based on currently available information. Use of the information constitutes acceptance
for use in an AS IS condition. There are no warranties with regard to this information.
Neither the author nor the publisher accepts any liability for any direct, indirect,
or consequential loss or damage arising from use of, or reliance on, this information.

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Last modified on: Monday, 28-Mar-05 12:26:34