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Virusscan EnterpriseApplication · Mcafee

CVE-2007-1538

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2007-03-20
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
McAfee VirusScan Enterprise 8.5.0.i uses insecure permissions for certain Windows Registry keys, which allows local users to bypass local password protection via the UIP value in (1) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\McAfee\DesktopProtection or (2) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Network Associates\TVD\VirusScan Entreprise\CurrentVersion. NOTE: this issue has been disputed by third-party researchers, stating that the default permissions for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE does not allow for write access and the product does not modify the inherited permissions. There might be an interaction error with another product

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

McAfee VirusScan Enterprise 8.5.0.i contains insecure registry key permissions on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\McAfee\DesktopProtection and related paths under Network Associates\TVD\VirusScan Enterprise\CurrentVersion. Local users can modify the UIP value in these keys to bypass the application's local password protection mechanism, gaining unauthorized access to the antivirus configuration.

MitigationRestrict write permissions on the affected registry keys to Administrators and SYSTEM only, removing any allowing write access for standard users. Verify password protection functionality remains intact after permission changes.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Virusscan EnterpriseApplication
Affected:= 8.5i

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm VirusScan Enterprise 8.5i is installed
    Check the installed version by examining HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\McAfee\DesktopProtection\ux in the registry, or run 'reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\McAfee\DesktopProtection"' and look for version information
    Affected if The installed version matches 8.5i (specifically 8.5.0.i)
  2. Verify permissions on DesktopProtection registry key
    Use regedit or reg query with the /s flag to examine HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\McAfee\DesktopProtection. Check the security descriptor (DACL) to determine which users and groups have Write or Full Control permissions
    Affected if Non-administrative users (such as 'Users' group or individual standard accounts) have Write or Full Control permissions on this key
  3. Verify permissions on VirusScan Enterprise CurrentVersion registry key
    Examine HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Network Associates\TVD\VirusScan Enterprise\CurrentVersion and check its security permissions using regedit or the 'reg query' command with attention to the DACL
    Affected if Non-administrative users have Write or Full Control permissions on this key or its subkeys
  4. Check for the UIP value existence
    Query the registry for values named 'UIP' under the affected paths using 'reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\McAfee\DesktopProtection" /v UIP'
    Affected if The UIP value exists in the registry (this indicates password protection is present and the bypass may be applicable)
  5. Test write access with a standard user account
    Using a non-administrative test account, attempt to modify the UIP value or create a new value under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\McAfee\DesktopProtection using reg add or regedit
    Affected if A standard user can successfully modify or create registry values in these keys, indicating the vulnerability is exploitable

If VirusScan Enterprise 8.5i is installed AND standard users have Write permissions on the McAfee DesktopProtection or VirusScan Enterprise CurrentVersion registry keys, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Restrict write permissions on the affected registry keys to Administrators and SYSTEM only, removing any allowing write access for standard users. Verify password protection functionality remains intact after permission changes.

Fix this in Virusscan Enterprise Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,570
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2007-1538 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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