CVE-2021-23883

System crash via mishandled system call

Published Feb 10, 2021 · Updated Sep 17, 2024

Null pointer dereference in McAfee Endpoint Security for Windows before 10.7.0 February 2021 allows local users to crash Windows. A specific system call reaches code that fails to handle a null pointer correctly; McAfee has not disclosed the affected handler. Exploitation requires local administrator privileges and produces an availability-only Windows crash whose occurrence varies by machine.

CVSS severity4.0
Medium
EPSS probability0.27%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Null pointer dereference in McAfee Endpoint Security for Windows before 10.7.0 February 2021 allows local users to crash Windows. A specific system call reaches code that fails to handle a null pointer correctly; McAfee has not disclosed the affected handler. Exploitation requires local administrator privileges and produces an availability-only Windows crash whose occurrence varies by machine.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-23883
Published
Feb 10, 2021
Updated
Sep 17, 2024
Vendor
McAfee
Product
McAfee Endpoint Security for Windows
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 10, 2021CVE 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=10.7.x <10.7.0 February 2021

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

McAfee · McAfee Endpoint Security for Windowsversion=10.7.x <10.7.0 February 2021

Published CVSS scores

4.9NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C
4.0TrellixCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
4.9NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1499.004Endpoint Denial of Service: Application or System Exploitation

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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