Authenticated admin anti-malware removal via unchecked attribute
Published Feb 10, 2021 · Updated Sep 16, 2024
Improper access control in McAfee ENS for Windows before the February 2021 update lets authenticated local administrators uninstall the anti-malware engine. The installer attribute handling accepts a specially parameterized command that permits the anti-malware component to be removed without an additional authorization check. The gate is local administrator authentication; successful use disables malware scanning and can leave the endpoint without that protection.
Summary
What happened
Improper access control in McAfee ENS for Windows before the February 2021 update lets authenticated local administrators uninstall the anti-malware engine. The installer attribute handling accepts a specially parameterized command that permits the anti-malware component to be removed without an additional authorization check. The gate is local administrator authentication; successful use disables malware scanning and can leave the endpoint without that protection.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2021-23880
- Published
- Feb 10, 2021
- Updated
- Sep 16, 2024
- Vendor
- McAfee
- Product
- McAfee Endpoint Security for Windows
- Classifications
- CWE-269, T1562.001
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- admin
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Feb 10, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- 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.
- Affected versionversion=10.7.x <10.7.0 February 2021
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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