February 09, 2005

Symantec hit by large-scale flaw

Security hole affects nearly every product Symantec sells

Symantec has issued patches to fix a "high impact" security hole that affects almost every product it currently sells.

According to security rival ISS, which unearthed the vulnerability, the problem lies with the DEC2EXE module in the Symantec Anti-Virus Library, a part of the virus detection engine that makes it possible to detect malware inside executable files compressed using the freeware UPX (Ultimate Packer for eXecuteables) format.

The vulnerable module fails to properly check within files when looking for viruses, a flaw that could allow an attacker to cause an software "heap overflow" using a specially crafted UPX file. ISS stated that this could, in turn, give an attacker unauthorized access to a network or its client PCs, as well as confidential information.

The company has posted an extensive list of affected products on its website, which includes its most popular programs for PC, Apple Mac, Linux and AS400 platforms, and even antispam software from Brightmail, a company acquired last year. Those versions not affected are mainly older, non-current versions of products or those updated most recently.

In an attempt to calm anxiety that a serious problem could affect almost its whole product line, Symantec emphasized that it had started removing the DEC2EXE module from its software before the issue came to light.

"Prior to ISS contacting Symantec with this vulnerability, Symantec had already removed the DEC2EXE engine from the scan engine upgrades implemented in the majority of Symantec products. Also, Symantec had planned the DEC2EXE engine removal from all affected Symantec product versions during upcoming maintenance updates," it stated on the company Web site.

Close

On Twitter now

Security

Powered by Twitter

On Twitter now

White Paper

D2D Virtual Tape Library Replication Primer

This whitepaper explains the terminology and concepts behind Data Replication technologies and establishes some sizing rules through worked examples. Learn the new paradigm in disaster tolerance—protect data anywhere.

Download now »

White Paper

An Alternative to Virtualization for Datacenter Cost Savings

Server virtualization is a popular option for dealing with mounting datacenter costs. Another equally promising approach is the use of an Application Delivery Controller. Citrix NetScaler provides a low-cost way for organizations to reduce their server count and accrue cost savings from a reduction in space, cooling, power and personnel.

Download now »

White Paper

Why Your Firewall, VPN, and IEEE 802.11i Aren't Enough to Protect Your Network

The emergence of WLANs has created a new breed of security threats to enterprise networks.

Included in HP ProCurve WLAN solutions is security technology that alleviates threats from WLANs through:
* Monitoring wireless activity inside and out of the enterprise
* Classifying WLAN transmissions into harmful and harmless
* Preventing transmissions that pose a security threat to the enterprise network
* Locating participating devices for physical remediation

Download now »

White Paper

Bringing the Edge to the Data Center

Effectively address data protection challenges, implementing solutions that help store and protect business–critical data while cutting costs and improving efficiency and reliability.

Download now »

Sign up to receive Security Resource Alerts

Subscribe to the Security Central Newsletter

Stay informed of the latest security threats and fixes.

White paper

Log Management: How to Develop the Right Strategy for Business and Compliance

This white paper provides guidance on how to develop a strategic approach to managing and monitoring logs, a key function required for compliance with many regulatory mandates and a critical defense against security threats.

Download now! »

White paper

The Essential Series: Security Information Management

Learn about the processes and technologies that support security information management (SIM) operations, as well as the business case for SIM. The series examines different options for implementing SIM and gives you evaluation criteria for selecting the best option for your organization.

Download now! »

White paper

Aberdeen: Choosing and Consuming Managed Security Services

Learn the strategies, actions, and capabilities that Best-in-Class organizations employ and technologies they choose to obtain superior performance against various security performance metrics. This report provides guidelines for identifying which security solutions to consume as a MSS and defines best practices for choosing and managing MSSPs.

Download now! »
©1994-2009 Infoworld, Inc.