Executive brief
Symantec's CleanWipe, a utility used to uninstall Endpoint Protection software on macOS, contains a security flaw that could allow a user with limited access to gain full administrative control of the computer. If an attacker already has a foothold on a system, they could use this tool to bypass security restrictions and perform unauthorized actions. This could lead to the compromise of sensitive data or the installation of malicious software with high-level permissions.
Technical details
A local privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the Symantec CleanWipe Removal Tool for macOS (prior to version 16.0.0.65). The flaw is categorized as CWE-250 (Execution with Unnecessary Privileges), indicating the tool may perform operations with higher privileges than required or fail to drop privileges correctly during the uninstallation process. An attacker with local access and high-level user permissions could exploit this during tool execution to escalate to full administrative or root-level control. The vulnerability requires user interaction and specific environmental conditions (AT:P) to be successfully exploited. Broadcom has released version 16.0.0.65 to remediate this issue.
Affected products
- Symantec CleanWipe Removal Tool (macOS) Prior to 16.0.0.65
Timeline
- 2026-06-10: disclosed
- 2026-06-10: advisory
- 2026-06-10: patched