CVE-2016-8008
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 · uneditedPrivilege escalation vulnerability in Windows 7 and Windows 10 in McAfee Security Scan Plus (SSP) 3.11.376 allows attackers to load a replacement of the version.dll file via McAfee McUICnt.exe onto a Windows system.
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 · high confidenceDLL planting vulnerability in McAfee Security Scan Plus (SSP) 3.11.376 allows local attackers to escalate privileges by placing a malicious version.dll file that gets loaded by the McUICnt.exe process, potentially executing code with elevated privileges.
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<= 3.11.376CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm McAfee Security Scan Plus is installedCheck Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for a key containing 'McAfee Security Scan Plus' or look for the installation folder in Program Files (typically Program Files\McAfee\Security Scan Plus)Affected if The product is not found in registry or installation directory is missing
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Locate the McUICnt.exe executableNavigate to the McAfee Security Scan Plus installation directory (usually Program Files\McAfee\Security Scan Plus) and verify McUICnt.exe existsAffected if McUICnt.exe file is not present in the expected installation directory
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Determine the installed version of McAfee Security Scan PlusRight-click on McUICnt.exe, select Properties, and view the Version tab to read the File Version; alternatively, check the registry value 'DisplayVersion' under the product's uninstall keyAffected if The displayed version number is 3.11.376 or any version lower than 3.11.376 (for example, 3.11.370, 3.11.0, etc.)
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Verify the vulnerable DLL loading condition existsCheck if the McUICnt.exe process loads version.dll from the application directory or a user-writable location; this can be confirmed by examining the application behavior or using Process Monitor (procmon.exe) to observe DLL load attempts when McUICnt.exe runsAffected if The application attempts to load version.dll from a directory where an unprivileged user can write files, enabling DLL planting
You are affected if McAfee Security Scan Plus is installed with version 3.11.376 or lower and the McUICnt.exe process loads DLLs from locations writable by non-admin users.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUninstall McAfee Security Scan Plus if not required, or apply vendor security updates that address DLL planting vulnerabilities in the affected product.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-8008 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-8008 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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