CVE-2023-24578

Local privilege escalation via DLL sideloading

Published Mar 13, 2023 · Updated Feb 27, 2025

DLL search-path hijacking in McAfee Total Protection before 16.0.49 allows local users to execute code with elevated privileges. McAfee has not disclosed which executable loads the attacker-controlled DLL, the library name, or the writable search-path location used for sideloading. Exploitation requires local access and user interaction; the planted DLL runs with the vulnerable process's elevated authority.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.25%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

DLL search-path hijacking in McAfee Total Protection before 16.0.49 allows local users to execute code with elevated privileges. McAfee has not disclosed which executable loads the attacker-controlled DLL, the library name, or the writable search-path location used for sideloading. Exploitation requires local access and user interaction; the planted DLL runs with the vulnerable process's elevated authority.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-24578
Published
Mar 13, 2023
Updated
Feb 27, 2025
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-427, T1574.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 13, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 27, 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?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

5.5CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
5.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/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 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-427Uncontrolled Search Path Element
T1574.001Hijack Execution Flow: DLL

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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