CVE-2018-6683
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 · uneditedExploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels vulnerability in McAfee Data Loss Prevention (DLP) for Windows versions prior to 10.0.505 and 11.0.405 allows local users to bypass DLP policy via editing of local policy files when offline.
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 confidenceMcAfee DLP for Windows contains an access control misconfiguration that allows local users to bypass DLP policy enforcement by editing local policy files when the system is offline. This enables a local attacker to circumvent data loss prevention controls.
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< 10.0.505< 11.0.405CVSS 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
- Physical
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/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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Verify McAfee DLP Endpoint is installedCheck the installed programs list in Windows Control Panel or use the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\McAfee\DLP to confirm DLP Endpoint presenceAffected if McAfee DLP Endpoint is not found on the system, the vulnerability does not apply
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Identify the installed DLP versionOpen Windows Registry or use the McAfee ePO console to retrieve the exact version number of Data Loss Prevention EndpointAffected if Unable to determine the version, treat as potentially affected
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Compare version against affected rangesMatch the installed version to the vulnerable ranges: versions below 10.0.505 (for 10.x line) or below 11.0.405 (for 11.x line)Affected if Installed version is 10.0.500 or lower, or 11.0.400 or lower, or falls within any version below these thresholds in the respective release branches
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Check local policy file permissionsLocate the local DLP policy storage directory (typically in ProgramData or Program Files) and inspect file ACLs to see if standard users have write access to policy filesAffected if Standard non-privileged users can modify local policy files
The system is affected if McAfee DLP Endpoint is installed and the version is below 10.0.505 or below 11.0.405, combined with weak file permissions on local policy files.
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 data10.0.50511.0.405
Upgrade McAfee DLP for Windows to version 10.0.505 or 11.0.405 or later to remediate the access control misconfiguration in local policy file handling.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-6683 — 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-2018-6683 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
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