Norton Antivirus Windows Eraser Engine: Improper Privilege Management
CVE-2022-4294 is a high-severity improper privilege management vulnerability in Norton Antivirus Windows Eraser Engine from NortonLifelock (GenDigital), with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. Affected Norton Antivirus Windows Eraser Engine versions: prior to 119.1.5.1. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.19% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Power Eraser to 119.1.5.1 or a later version.
- Update Antivirus to 22.10 or a later version.
- Read the advisory on support.norton.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| NortonLifelock (GenDigital) | Norton Antivirus Windows Eraser Engine | prior to 119.1.5.1 | Not stated |
| NortonLifelock (GenDigital) | Avira Security | prior to 1.1.78 | Not stated |
| NortonLifelock (GenDigital) | Avast Antivirus | Prior to 22.10 | Not stated |
| NortonLifelock (GenDigital) | AVG Antivirus | Prior to 22.10 | Not stated |
| Norton | Power Eraser | before 119.1.5.1 | 119.1.5.1 |
| Avast | Antivirus | before 22.10 | 22.10 |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- LowA basic user account is enough.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.1 | High | CNA (nortonlifelock.com) |
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.8 | High | NVD |
Official description
Norton, Avira, Avast and AVG Antivirus for Windows may be susceptible to a Privilege Escalation vulnerability, which is a type of issue whereby an attacker may attempt to compromise the software application to gain elevated access to resources that are normally protected from an application or user.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Improper Privilege Management
The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Very carefully manage the setting, management, and handling of privileges. Explicitly manage trust zones in the software.
- Follow the principle of least privilege when assigning access rights to entities in a software system.
- Consider following the principle of separation of privilege. Require multiple conditions to be met before permitting access to a system resource.
More Improper Privilege Management vulnerabilities (CWE-269)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: partial).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Recent Improper Privilege Management vulnerabilities
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 8.4 High severity
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