Symantec Privileged Access Management: Improper Initialization
CVE-2024-36455 is a critical-severity improper initialization vulnerability in Symantec Privileged Access Management from Broadcom, with a CVSS 4.0 base score of 9.4 out of 10. It can be exploited from the same local network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected Symantec Privileged Access Management versions: 4.1.0 - 4.1.7; 3.4.6; 4.1.0 through 4.1.7, and others listed below. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.47% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.
What to do
- Check which version of Symantec Privileged Access Management you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broadcom | Symantec Privileged Access Management | 4.1.0 - 4.1.7; 3.4.6; 4.1.0 through 4.1.7; 3.4.6.0 | Not stated |
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
- AdjacentThe attacker must be on the same local network segment.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Attack requirements
- NoneThe attack does not depend on a particular deployment or configuration.
- Privileges required
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Confidentiality (vulnerable system)
- HighSerious loss of confidentiality on the vulnerable system.
- Integrity (vulnerable system)
- HighSerious loss of integrity on the vulnerable system.
- Availability (vulnerable system)
- HighSerious loss of availability on the vulnerable system.
- Confidentiality (other systems)
- HighSerious loss of confidentiality on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
- Integrity (other systems)
- HighSerious loss of integrity on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
- Availability (other systems)
- HighSerious loss of availability on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X. Scored by CNA (symantec.com).
Official description
An improper input validation allows an unauthenticated attacker to achieve remote command execution on the affected PAM system by sending a specially crafted HTTP request.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Improper Initialization
The product does not initialize or incorrectly initializes a resource.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Use a language that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, in Java, if the programmer does not explicitly initialize a variable, then the code could produce a compile-time error (if the variable is local) or automatically initialize the variable to the default value for the variable's type. In Perl, if explicit initialization is not performed, then a default value of undef is assigned, which is interpreted as 0, false, or an equivalent value depending on the context in which the variable is accessed.
- Identify all variables and data stores that receive information from external sources, and apply input validation to make sure that they are only initialized to expected values.
- Explicitly initialize all your variables and other data stores, either during declaration or just before the first usage.
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Other references
Other vulnerabilities in Symantec Privileged Access Management
- 8.8 High severity
- 8.6 High severity
- 9.4 Critical severity
- 9.4 Critical severity
Recent Improper Initialization vulnerabilities
- 8.2 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
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