CVE-2020-7263Public exploit

Protection disablement via portable encrypted configurations

Published Apr 1, 2020 · Updated Sep 16, 2024

Improper access control in ESConfigTool.exe in McAfee Endpoint Security for Windows allows local users with administrator rights to disable protection. The tool uses insecure configuration encryption, allowing an encrypted policy created on another installation to be imported and applied to protected settings. Exploitation requires local administrator access and an imported configuration; successful use can change exclusions or disable all ENS protections.

CVSS severity6.7
Medium
EPSS probability0.17%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper access control in ESConfigTool.exe in McAfee Endpoint Security for Windows allows local users with administrator rights to disable protection. The tool uses insecure configuration encryption, allowing an encrypted policy created on another installation to be imported and applied to protected settings. Exploitation requires local administrator access and an imported configuration; successful use can change exclusions or disable all ENS protections.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-7263
Published
Apr 1, 2020
Updated
Sep 16, 2024
Vendor
McAfee
Product
McAfee Endpoint Security for Windows
Classifications
CWE-732, CWE-264, T1562.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 1, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 16, 2024Record 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=10.6.x <=ENS 10.6.1 July 2020 Update
  2. Affected versionversion=10.7.x <=ENS 10.7.0 July 2020 Update

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

McAfee · McAfee Endpoint Security for Windowsversion=10.6.x <=ENS 10.6.1 July 2020 Update; version=10.7.x <=ENS 10.7.0 July 2020 Update

Published CVSS scores

6.5TrellixCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
6.7NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.6NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-732Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource
CWE-264Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls
T1562.001Impair Defenses: Disable or Modify Tools

Public exploit references

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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