CVE-2021-31847: mcafee agent Improper Privilege Management
Vulnerability summary
CVE-2021-31847 is a high (CVSS 8.2) Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in mcafee agent. EPSS estimates a 0.40% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 32.5% of scored vulnerabilities.
Timeline
- 22-09-2021PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
- 03-08-2024Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.
Description
Improper access control vulnerability in the repair process for McAfee Agent for Windows prior to 5.7.4 could allow a local attacker to perform a DLL preloading attack using unsigned DLLs. This would result in elevation of privileges and the ability to execute arbitrary code as the system user, through not correctly protecting a temporary directory used in the repair process and not checking the DLL signature.
CVSS metrics
3 scores · 2 sources · 2 versions- NVDNIST7.8HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HDiffers
EPSS trend
Probability
0.40%
Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days
Percentile
33%
Versus all other CVEs
30-day change
0.00 pp
From 0.40% on 18-09-2026
Known exploited
Compare KEV catalogsNot in any of the 3 tracked catalogs.
Public exploits
0 foundNo public exploits indexed.
Weaknesses
CWE · root cause- CWE-269Improper Privilege ManagementThe product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.
- CWE-347Improper Verification of Cryptographic SignatureThe product does not verify, or incorrectly verifies, the cryptographic signature for data.
- CWE-427Uncontrolled Search Path ElementThe product uses a fixed or controlled search path to find resources, but one or more locations in that path can be under the control of unintended actors.
Affected systems
Mcafee1 product
- agent< 5.7.4
Mcafee,llc1 product
- mcafee agent for windows≥ unspecified, < 5.7.4
2 vendors · 2 products