CVE-2025-13919VulnerabilityPublished 28 Jan 2026Updated 30 Jan 2026

CVE-2025-13919: Broadcom Symantec Endpoint Protection Windows Client · Uncontrolled Search Path Element

Affects Broadcom Symantec Endpoint Protection Windows ClientSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.4 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

4.4Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 3% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: Low
Availability: Low

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 28 Jan 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
BroadcomSymantec Endpoint Protection Windows Client	Affected =14.3.12154.10000	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

1. Apply the latest patches from Broadcom for Symantec Endpoint Protection Windows Client, specifically versions 14.3 RU10 Patch 1, RU9 Patch 2, or RU8 Patch 3 or later. 2. Conduct a thorough audit of COM-related registry keys to detect unauthorized modifications or suspicious entries that could indicate hijacking attempts. 3. Implement strict access control policies on registry keys associated with COM objects to limit modification rights to trusted administrators only. 4. Employ endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions capable of monitoring registry changes and COM object loading behavior to detect potential hijacking activities. 5. Enforce the principle of least privilege for users and processes to reduce the likelihood of local privilege exploitation. 6. Educate IT and security teams about the risks of COM hijacking and the importance of monitoring persistence mechanisms. 7. Regularly review and update security policies to include checks for vulnerabilities related to search path manipulation and COM object security. 8. In environments where patching may be delayed, consider temporary compensating controls such as application whitelisting and enhanced monitoring of endpoint security software behavior.

Description

CVE-2025-13919 is a medium severity vulnerability affecting Broadcom's Symantec Endpoint Protection Windows Client prior to versions 14.3 RU10 Patch 1, RU9 Patch 2, and RU8 Patch 3. It involves an uncontrolled search path element (CWE-427) that allows an attacker with limited privileges to hijack COM references in the Windows Registry. This hijacking can enable persistence and evasion of detection by redirecting legitimate COM object calls to malicious payloads. The vulnerability requires local access with low privileges and does not require user interaction. Although no known exploits are currently in the wild, the vulnerability impacts the integrity and availability of affected systems. European organizations relying on Symantec Endpoint Protection for endpoint security should prioritize patching to mitigate risks. Countries with significant deployments of Broadcom security products and critical infrastructure are more likely to be targeted. Mitigation involves applying vendor patches, auditing COM registry entries, and enforcing strict access controls on registry keys related to COM objects.

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a risk primarily to the integrity and availability of endpoint protection systems. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to maintain persistence on critical endpoints by hijacking COM references, potentially disabling or circumventing security controls. This could lead to prolonged undetected presence of malware or unauthorized access, increasing the risk of data breaches, ransomware attacks, or sabotage. Organizations in sectors with high security requirements such as finance, healthcare, energy, and government are particularly at risk. The medium CVSS score indicates that while confidentiality is not directly impacted, the ability to undermine endpoint protection integrity can have cascading effects on overall network security. Additionally, since the vulnerability requires local access, it may be exploited in scenarios involving insider threats or after initial compromise through other vectors. The lack of known exploits currently reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, especially as attackers often develop exploits for such vulnerabilities post-disclosure. European entities using Broadcom Symantec Endpoint Protection should assess their exposure and prioritize remediation to prevent exploitation that could disrupt critical operations or lead to data loss.

CWE-427Uncontrolled Search Path Element (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A08:2025: Software or Data Integrity Failures (opens in a new tab)
The product uses a fixed or controlled search path to find resources, but one or more locations in that path can be under the control of unintended actors.
Architecture and Design · Implementation · Attack Surface Reduction
Hard-code the search path to a set of known-safe values (such as system directories), or only allow them to be specified by the administrator in a configuration file. Do not allow these settings to be modified by an external party. Be careful to avoid related weaknesses such as CWE-426 and CWE-428.
Implementation · Attack Surface Reduction
When invoking other programs, specify those programs using fully-qualified pathnames. While this is an effective approach, code that uses fully-qualified pathnames might not be portable to other systems that do not use the same pathnames.
Implementation · Attack Surface Reduction
Remove or restrict all environment settings before invoking other programs. This includes the PATH environment variable, LD_LIBRARY_PATH, and other settings that identify the location of code libraries, and any application-specific search paths.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Software Supply Chain Security (opens in a new tab)
Infrastructure as Code (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Leveraging/Manipulating Configuration File Search Paths (opens in a new tab)
Search Order Hijacking (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

support.broadcom.com/web/ecx/support-content-notification/-/external/content/SecurityAdvisories/0/36774 (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 5 Feb 2026, 08:34 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-427

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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