Vulnerability Note VU#713620

Symantec Norton AntiVirus vulnerable to DoS via the Auto-Protect "SmartScan" feature

Overview

Symantec Norton AntiVirus may hang or crash when the Auto-Protect module SmartScan feature scans a renamed file on a network share.

I. Description

Symantec Norton AntiVirus is an anti-virus product for desktop and enterprise use. The Norton AntiVirus "Auto-Protect" module provides automatic file scanning and detection of viruses, Trojans, and worms. The Auto-Protect module includes a feature called "SmartScan" which, as an alternative to scanning all file types, only scans specifically targeted file types and extensions. A flaw in the SmartScan feature is triggered when a file residing on a network share is renamed that may cause excessive CPU consumption and an eventual system hang or crash as a result.

II. Impact

A local authenticated user may be able to cause the system to crash or hang by renaming a file residing on a network share.

III. Solution

Apply an update

Symantec has released fixes for this problem that are available through the LiveUpdate functionality of the products. Symantec advisory SYM05-006 provides details on obtaining updates through LiveUpdate or other channels.

Systems Affected

Vendor	Status	Date Notified	Date Updated
Symantec Corporation	Vulnerable	30-Mar-2005

References

http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/security/Content/2005.03.28.html
http://secunia.com/advisories/14741/
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/12924
http://www.securitytracker.com/alerts/2005/Mar/1013586

Credit

Thanks to Isamu Noguchi, JPCERT, and IPA for reporting this vulnerability.

This document was written by Ken MacInnis.

Other Information

Date Public:	2005-03-28
Date First Published:	2005-03-30
Date Last Updated:	2005-03-30
CERT Advisory:
CVE-ID(s):	CAN-2005-0923
NVD-ID(s):	CAN-2005-0923
US-CERT Technical Alerts:
Metric:	4.05
Document Revision:	5

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