On 7 March, Edivice Security submitted the following:
To:
BugTraq
Subject:
Various Vulnerabilities in Norton
Anti-Virus 2002
Date:
Mar 7 2002 6:16PM
Author:
Edvice Security Services <
supportat_private>
Message-ID:
<000701c1c5fb$c168f970$5a01010a@mic2000>
Various Vulnerabilities in Norton Anti-Virus 2002
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Scope
----------
Edvice recently tested NAV 2002's ability to detect viruses in
incoming
e-mail messages. NAV 2002 includes an Email protection feature that
scans incoming and outgoing e-mails for viruses.
The Findings
-----------------
We encountered 4 vulnerabilities in NAV 2002 email protection
feature.
One of the vulnerabilities affects the Auto-Protect mechanism as
well.
The vulnerabilities allow bypassing NAV 2002 email protection.
______________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________snip
Symantec Security Response Advisory
7 March 2002
Symantec Norton AntiVirus Email Protection Bypass
Reference
Edvice Security Services Ltd.
Risk Impact
Low
Affected Components
Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2002
Overview
Edvice Security Services Ltd. notified Symantec that Symantec Norton
AntiVirus 2002 incoming email scanning protection could be bypassed by
the following means:
* Embedding malicious code in a modified MIME message.
* The exclusion of .nch and .dbx extensions from scanning.
* MIME header with double file names.
Details
Edvice Security Services Ltd. tested Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2002
and reported the following behaviors:
1. It is possible to bypass Norton AntiVirus 2002 Incoming Email
Protection by injecting a NULL character into the MIME message. If the
NULL character appears before the virus part, then Norton AntiVirus
2002 fails to detect the virus. Embedding virus or malicious code in
specific non-RFC compliant MIME formats in some instances causes
Norton AntiVirus 2002 to prematurely terminate scanning, allowing
infected emails to go undetected in the initial incoming scanning
process.
2. Embedding malicious code in certain non-RFC compliant MIME formats
in some instances causes Norton AntiVirus 2002 to prematurely
terminate scanning, allowing infected e-mails to go undetected in the
initial incoming scanning process.
3. There are 2 file types, .nch and .dbx, which are excluded by
default from Norton AntiVirus 2002 scanning. An attacker can take
either a Word macro virus or an executable file with an embedded
virus, rename it with an .nch or a .dbx extension, and send it to a
victim. If the victim runs Norton AntiVirus 2002, these files would be
excluded from being scanned. Because Windows automatically recognizes
these files, double-clicking the file executes the infected document.
4. Renaming a .doc or .exe file with an "excluded" extension could
deceive Norton AntiVirus 2002 to exclude the file from being scanned.
For example,
Content-Type: application/msword;
name=\"Virus.nch\" or Virus.dbx
Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64
Content-Disposition: attachment;
filename=\"Virus.exe\"
In this example, the victim will receive an .exe file and not an .nch
file. Microsoft Outlook determines the file name using the
Content-Disposition field while Norton AntiVirus 2002 excludes the
file after looking at the Content-Type field. Norton AntiVirus 2002
looks at the first "name" field while Outlook presents the filename as
Virus.exe. An attacker can take a macro virus (for example,
Virus.exe), rename it to Virus.nch, and send it to a potential victim.
If the victim is using Norton AntiVirus 2002, the virus will not be
detected by the email protection feature or by the Auto-Protect
feature. However, double-clicking this file will cause it to execute.
1. Symantec Response
Symantec feels that there are some basic misunderstandings concerning
the impact of Edvice Security's findings. Symantec Norton AntiVirus
products provide multiple-layered scanning to protect in these cases.
Symantec customers are not in danger of being infected through any of
these issues.
Regarding the first two issues, Symantec has confirmed that although
the initial incoming scan may be bypassed in the manner described by
Edvice, the Symantec Norton AntiVirus AutoProtect feature protects a
system by scanning active files for viruses, Trojan horses, and worms.
If malicious code is hidden in such a manner as to bypass the initial
email scan, the malicious virus or code would be detected in real time
by a scheduled or manual scan if the file were saved on the targeted
system. Additionally, attempts to execute the malicious code would
cause Symantec Auto-Protect to alert. Finally, Symantec's Script
Blocking feature would further prevent any malicious scripts from
running on the targeted system. That said, Symantec takes the security
of its products very seriously. Symantec will have an update to
address this RFC issue available via LiveUpdate shortly.
In the third issue, newsgroups use .nch files for caching and local
storage while the .dbx files are the mailbox files for Microsoft
Outlook Express. It is true that by renaming the file type of a
malicious file to one of the excluded file types, this will bypass the
initial incoming email scan. Further, by renaming a Microsoft Office
document containing malicious code or macros to one of the excluded
extensions, Microsoft Office will still recognize the document as a
Microsoft document and execute it on the system. However, when the
malicious Microsoft document is executed the Norton AntiVirus Office
plug-in would scan it and alert the user to any potential malicious
activity. A renamed file or a type other than a Microsoft document
would not execute on the computer and, therefore, could not infect a
user's computer. Symantec is reviewing the exclusion feature to
respond to this type of issue.
The fourth issue is similar to the third. By renaming a file
containing malicious code to one with an excluded extension and
delivering it in the non-RFC compliant MIME format, Norton Antivirus'
incoming email scan could be bypassed and the malicious file saved on
the system as a executable file or as a Microsoft Office document.
However, if an attempt is made to execute the malicious file on the
computer, the file will be detected by Norton AntiVirus or by the
Norton AntiVirus Office plug-in, depending on the file type, which
would alert the user to any potential malicious activity. Symantec
will have an update to address this RFC issue available via LiveUpdate
shortly.
Symantec recommends the following Best Practices to enhance the
protection of your computers from unauthorized access:
1. Keep vendor-supplied patches for all software up-to-date.
2. Be wary of mysterious attachments and executables delivered from
email, user groups, and so on.
3. Do not open attachments or executables from unknown sources. Always
err on the side of caution.
1. Even if the sender is known, be wary of attachments if the sender
does not explain the attachment content in the body of the email. You
do not know the source of the attachment.
2. If in doubt, contact the sender before opening the attachment. If
still in doubt, delete the attachment without opening it.
Credit
Symantec takes the security and proper functionality of its products
very seriously. Symantec appreciates the coordination of Mickey
Boodaei and Edvice Security Services Ltd. in identifying and providing
technical details of potential areas of concern so it can quickly
address the issue. Anyone with information on security issues with
Symantec products should contact symsecurityat_private
Copyright (c) 2002 by Symantec Corp.
Permission to redistribute this Advisory 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 Advisory in a
medium other than electronically requires permission from
symsecurityat_private
Disclaimer:
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of printing based on currently available information. Use of the
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