CVE-2018-5235
CWE-427Published: August 22, 2018· Updated: Jun 17, 2026
Official Description
Norton Utilities (prior to 16.0.3.44) 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.
Technical Analysis
CVE-2018-5235 requires local access, meaning attackers must already have a foothold on the target system.
Exploitation requires high privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.
A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 6.0.
CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown
Affected Vendors & Products
Exploit & PoC Resources
Official Patches & Advisories
All References (4)
Quick Facts
Related CVEs (CWE-427)
Recommended Actions
- →Apply vendor patches immediately
- →Monitor CVE-2018-5235 in threat intel feeds
- →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts