Symantec LiveUpdate for Macintosh Local Privilege Escalation

Risk Impact
Medium

Remote Access	No
Local Access	Yes
Authentication Required	Yes
Exploit publicly available	No

Details
Some components of Symantec's LiveUpdate for Macintosh do not set their execution path environment. A non-privileged user can change their execution path environment. If the user then executes one of these components, it will inherit the changed environment and use it to locate system commands. These components are configured to run with System Administrative privileges (SUID) and are vulnerable to a potential Trojan horse attack.

Symantec Response
A patch has been created and made available for all affected versions of the product through Symantec LiveUpdate.

To perform a manual update using Symantec LiveUpdate, users should:

Credit
Symantec thanks DigitalMunition.com working with iDefense, for notifying Symantec of this issue.

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.

Symantec Vulnerability Response Policy

Symantec Product Vulnerability Management PGP Key

Copyright (c) 2008 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.

Symantec, Symantec products, Symantec Security Response, and secure@symantec.com are registered trademarks of Symantec Corp. and/or affiliated companies in the United States and other countries. All other registered and unregistered trademarks represented in this document are the sole property of their respective companies/owners.