CVE-2019-3588
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 Microsoft Windows client (McTray.exe) in McAfee VirusScan Enterprise (VSE) 8.8 prior to Patch 14 may allow unauthorized users to interact with the On-Access Scan Messages - Threat Alert Window when the Windows Login Screen is locked.
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 confidenceA privilege escalation vulnerability in McTray.exe (McAfee System Tray) in VirusScan Enterprise 8.8 prior to Patch 14 allows unauthorized local users to interact with the On-Access Scan Threat Alert Window when the Windows Login Screen is locked. This bypasses the intended security boundary by permitting interaction with security alert UI elements that should be restricted to authenticated users only.
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= 8.8CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/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.
-
Confirm VirusScan Enterprise 8.8 installationOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'wmic product get name,version' and look for 'McAfee VirusScan Enterprise' listed with version 8.8Affected if McAfee VirusScan Enterprise 8.8 is installed and listed in programs
-
Determine installed patch levelCheck the VirusScan Enterprise version details in the product UI (Help > About) or check the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\McAfee\VSCore\Version for the patch info. Compare the patch number to Patch 14.Affected if Version shows 8.8 with patch level earlier than Patch 14, or patch level cannot be determined as 14 or later
-
Verify McTray.exe is runningOpen Task Manager or run 'tasklist | findstr McTray.exe' to confirm the McAfee System Tray process is activeAffected if McTray.exe process is running on the system
-
Check On-Access Scan alert configurationOpen VirusScan Console > On-Access Scan Properties > Alerts > Configure Alerts, or check the registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\McAfee\VSCore\OnAccessScanner for alert configuration settingsAffected if On-Access Scan Threat Alert Window is enabled and configured to display to all users (default behavior prior to patch)
A system is affected if it runs VirusScan Enterprise 8.8 with a patch level prior to 14, has McTray.exe active, and retains default alert configuration that allows UI interaction at the Windows login screen.
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 dataApply McAfee VirusScan Enterprise Patch 14 or later to remediate this vulnerability. Ensure patch deployment is validated across all affected Windows clients.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,848.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-3588 — 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-2019-3588 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data