CVE-2020-7259

Local self-protection bypass via unsigned executable

Published Apr 15, 2020 · Updated Sep 17, 2024

Privilege-management flaw in McAfee Endpoint Security for Windows before 10.7.0 April 2020 Update allows local users to bypass self-protection. The affected file-handling path fails to reject a carefully crafted unsigned executable, so intended self-protection rules do not apply. Successful exploitation requires local low-privileged access and user interaction, after which the executable can evade the endpoint control.

CVSS severity6.6
Medium
EPSS probability0.25%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Privilege-management flaw in McAfee Endpoint Security for Windows before 10.7.0 April 2020 Update allows local users to bypass self-protection. The affected file-handling path fails to reject a carefully crafted unsigned executable, so intended self-protection rules do not apply. Successful exploitation requires local low-privileged access and user interaction, after which the executable can evade the endpoint control.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-7259
Published
Apr 15, 2020
Updated
Sep 17, 2024
Vendor
McAfee
Product
McAfee Endpoint Security
Classifications
CWE-269, CWE-264, T1562.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 15, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 17, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=10.x <10.7.0 April 2020 Update

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

McAfee · McAfee Endpoint Securityversion=10.x <10.7.0 April 2020 Update

Published CVSS scores

7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.6NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
6.6TrellixCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:L

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 exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-269Improper Privilege Management
CWE-264Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls
T1562.001Impair Defenses: Disable or Modify Tools

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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