CVE-2021-23874Known exploitationPublic exploit

SYSTEM code execution via PEB path spoofing

Published Feb 10, 2021 · Updated Oct 21, 2025

Improper privilege management in McAfee Total Protection before 16.0.30 allows local users to execute arbitrary code as SYSTEM. The McAWFwk COM service exposes IManageOem::RunProgram without impersonation, while its client-side ProxyStub trusts a spoofable PEB image path to approve callers. A low-privileged Windows session and a McAfee-signed path are sufficient to bypass self-defense and launch a chosen process with SYSTEM privileges.

CVSS severity8.2
High
EPSS probability1.03%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationReported
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper privilege management in McAfee Total Protection before 16.0.30 allows local users to execute arbitrary code as SYSTEM. The McAWFwk COM service exposes IManageOem::RunProgram without impersonation, while its client-side ProxyStub trusts a spoofable PEB image path to approve callers. A low-privileged Windows session and a McAfee-signed path are sufficient to bypass self-defense and launch a chosen process with SYSTEM privileges.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-23874
Published
Feb 10, 2021
Updated
Oct 21, 2025
Vendor
McAfee
Product
McAfee Total Protection
Classifications
CWE-732, CWE-269, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 10, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 21, 2025Record 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=unspecified <16.0.30

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

McAfee · McAfee Total Protectionversion=unspecified <16.0.30

Published CVSS scores

4.6NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
8.2TrellixCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.8NVDCVSS: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.

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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 exploitationReported
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-732Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource
CWE-269Improper Privilege Management
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

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

Reported exploitation

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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