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TI-2018-03795 Aliases CVE-2018-5238GHSA-cf5f-pw2j-32gg

Uncontrolled search path in Symantec Norton Power Eraser

Priority LOW 37CWE-427Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Local
Privileges required
None
User interaction
Required
Attack complexity
Low
Impact type
Code execution
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
High · High · High
Fix status
Fixed

Attack profile from CVSS 3.0 · NVD. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-427.

Summary

Norton Power Eraser (prior to 5.3.0.24) and SymDiag (prior to 2.1.242) may be susceptible to a DLL Preloading vulnerability, which is a type of issue that can occur when an application looks to call a DLL for execution and an attacker provides a malicious DLL to use instead. Depending on how the application is configured, it will generally follow a specific search path to locate the DLL. The vulnerability can be exploited by a simple file write (or potentially an over-write) which results in a foreign DLL running under the context of the application.

Why it matters now

EPSS 0.01573 75th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Fixed Norton Power Eraser (Symantec Corporation): 5.3.0.24SymDiag (Symantec Corporation): 2.1.242

SSVC decision points

Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
SymantecNorton Power Eraserbefore 5.3.0.245.3.0.24Patch availableCNA
SymantecSymDiagbefore 2.1.2422.1.242Patch availableCNA
  • Norton Power Eraser VendorSymantec Affected before 5.3.0.24 Fixed in 5.3.0.24 Patch available CNA
  • SymDiag VendorSymantec Affected before 2.1.242 Fixed in 2.1.242 Patch available CNA

CPE configurations NVD · 2

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:a:symantec:norton_power_eraser:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*before 5.3.0.24VulnerableSymantec
cpe:2.3:a:symantec:symdiag:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*before 2.1.242VulnerableSymantec
  • cpe:2.3:a:symantec:norton_power_eraser:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 5.3.0.24 Vulnerable ·Symantec
  • cpe:2.3:a:symantec:symdiag:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 2.1.242 Vulnerable ·Symantec

Remediation

  • Fix · CNA Norton Power Eraser (Symantec Corporation) Fixed in 5.3.0.24
  • Fix · CNA SymDiag (Symantec Corporation) Fixed in 2.1.242

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2018-5238
  2. 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-cf5f-pw2j-32gg

References

Advisory 1

  • TI-2016-02020 The AntiVirus Decomposer engine in Symantec Advanced Threat Protection (ATP); Symantec… CVSS 3.0HIGH 7.8
  • TI-2016-03091 Integer overflow in the TNEF unpacker in the AntiVirus Decomposer engine in Symantec… CVSS 3.0CRITICAL 9.8
  • TI-2016-03092 The AntiVirus Decomposer engine in Symantec Advanced Threat Protection (ATP); Symantec… CVSS 3.0HIGH 8.4
  • TI-2016-03090 The AntiVirus Decomposer engine in Symantec Advanced Threat Protection (ATP); Symantec… CVSS 3.0HIGH 8.4
  • TI-2016-02016 The AntiVirus Decomposer engine in Symantec Advanced Threat Protection (ATP); Symantec… CVSS 3.0HIGH 8.4
  • TI-2016-02018 Buffer overflow in Dec2SS.dll in the AntiVirus Decomposer engine in Symantec Advanced… CVSS 3.0HIGH 7.3
See all 7 →

Sources

This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences