CVE-2020-7279

Local code execution via installer DLL hijacking

Published Jun 10, 2020 · Updated Sep 16, 2024

McAfee Host Intrusion Prevention for Windows 8.0.x before Patch 15 allows local users to execute arbitrary code through installer DLL search order. The installer loads a DLL from a compromised folder because Windows search-order resolution is not constrained to a trusted system location. Exploitation requires local access and execution of the installer, with resulting code running under the installer context.

CVSS severity4.6
Medium
EPSS probability0.42%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

McAfee Host Intrusion Prevention for Windows 8.0.x before Patch 15 allows local users to execute arbitrary code through installer DLL search order. The installer loads a DLL from a compromised folder because Windows search-order resolution is not constrained to a trusted system location. Exploitation requires local access and execution of the installer, with resulting code running under the installer context.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-7279
Published
Jun 10, 2020
Updated
Sep 16, 2024
Vendor
McAfee
Product
McAfee Host Intrusion Prevention for Windows
Classifications
CWE-426, T1574.002
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 10, 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

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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=8.0.x <8.0.0 Patch 15 update

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

McAfee · McAfee Host Intrusion Prevention for Windowsversion=8.0.x <8.0.0 Patch 15 update

Published CVSS scores

7.8NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.4NVDAV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
4.6TrellixCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:N

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
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-426Untrusted Search Path
T1574.002DLL Side-Loading

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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