Severity

Medium for Symantec Mail Security (SMS) for Domino and Microsoft Exchange

Low for SMS for SMTP and SMS Appliance

NOTE: SMS for SMTP and Appliance already run the Autonomy KeyView in an out-of- process isolation (see Symantec Response below) in all currently supported products. This minimizes the impact of this issue against those product versions.

Symantec Response

Symantec product engineers have implemented solutions for this issue. The Autonomy KeyView module processes are separated from the Symantec application processes (out-of-process) and have limited rights. This out-of-process method specifically addresses these types of security concerns. Any attempt to exploit the Autonomy KeyView module results in process termination of the offending thread and an error message generated to and handled by the specific SMS application. Additionally, affected Symantec products have been updated to the latest version of the KeyView module.
Symantec knows of no exploitation of or adverse customer impact from these issues.
 

Update Information

SMS for Domino and Microsoft Exchange updates are available through the Platinum Support Web Site for Platinum customers or through the FileConnect -Electronic Software Distribution web site.

Workaround for Symantec Mail Security for Domino

Installations of SMS for Domino 7.5 that are not utilizing the Content Filtering capabilities of the product are not susceptible. SMS for Domino 7.5 would be susceptible only if the attachment content scanning option is enabled.

Administrators unable to upgrade to the recommended solution may disable content filtering rules that contain parameters that specify scanning of attachment content. The rules do not need to be deleted, only disabled until the updated release is installed.

To disable the content filtering rules for Symantec Mail Security for Domino
 

• Select the "Content Filtering" tab to display the list of current enabled rules

• Click on the checkmark to the left of any rules that utilize attachment content filtering, changing it to a red "X", and disabling the rule

Workaround for Symantec Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange

Installations of SMS for Microsoft Exchange 5.x that are not utilizing the Content Filtering capabilities of the product are not susceptible. SMS for Microsoft Exchange 5.x is susceptible only if the attachment content scanning option is enabled.

Administrators unable to upgrade to the recommended solution may disable content filtering rules that contain parameters that specify scanning of attachment content. The rules do not need to be deleted, only disabled until the updated release is installed.
 

• To disable the content filtering rules for SMS for Microsoft Exchange:

• Select the "Policies" tab and then choose "Content Filtering" to display the list of currently enabled rules

• Ensure that all rules using attachment content are "disabled"

Workaround for Symantec Mail Security for SMTP and Symantec Mail Security Appliance

Installations of SMS for SMTP and SMS Appliance that are not utilizing the Content Filtering capabilities of the product are not susceptible to this issue. SMS for SMTP and Appliance would be susceptible only if the attachment content scanning option is enabled.

Administrators unable to upgrade to the recommended solution may disable content filtering rules that contain parameters that specify scanning of attachment content. The rules do not need to be deleted, only disabled until the updated release is installed.

To disable the content filtering rules for SMS for SMTP and SMS Appliance:

• Log into the Management Console and select the Settings tab

• Select Scanning from the Email Scanning group in the Navigation List

• To disable, uncheck the option "Enable searching of non-plain text attachments for words in dictionaries"

Best Practices

As part of normal best practices, Symantec strongly recommends:

• Restrict access to administration or management systems to privileged users.

• Restrict remote access, if required, to trusted/authorized systems only.

• Run under the principle of least privilege where possible to limit the impact of exploit by threats.

• Keep all operating systems and applications updated with the latest vendor patches.

• Follow a multi-layered approach to security. Run both firewall and anti-malware applications, at a minimum, to provide multiple points of detection and protection to both inbound and outbound threats.

• Deploy network and host-based intrusion detection systems to monitor network traffic for signs of anomalous or suspicious activity. This may aid in detection of attacks or malicious activity related to exploitation of latent vulnerabilities