CVE-2026-8501Public exploit

Local privilege escalation via unrestricted driver IOCTLs

Published Jun 1, 2026 · Updated Jun 1, 2026

Improper access control in Symantec PC Tools Internet Security allows local users to invoke privileged kernel operations through PCTCore64.sys. The driver creates the \.\PCTCoreDriver WDM device with IoCreateDevice but applies no restrictive security descriptor, so unprivileged processes can open it and issue privileged IOCTL requests. Access to or the ability to load the signed driver is required; exposed handlers can read LSASS credentials, terminate protected processes, and destabilize the host.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.16%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Improper access control in Symantec PC Tools Internet Security allows local users to invoke privileged kernel operations through PCTCore64.sys. The driver creates the \.\PCTCoreDriver WDM device with IoCreateDevice but applies no restrictive security descriptor, so unprivileged processes can open it and issue privileged IOCTL requests. Access to or the ability to load the signed driver is required; exposed handlers can read LSASS credentials, terminate protected processes, and destabilize the host.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-8501
Published
Jun 1, 2026
Updated
Jun 1, 2026
Vendor
Symantec
Product
PC Tools Internet Security
Classifications
CWE-782, T1068, T1562.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 1, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jun 1, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=*

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Symantec · PC Tools Internet Securityversion=*

Published CVSS scores

7.8CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-782Exposed IOCTL with Insufficient Access Control
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation
T1562.001Impair Defenses

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo