CVE-2020-7251
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 · uneditedImproper access control vulnerability in Configuration Tool in McAfee Mcafee Endpoint Security (ENS) Prior to 10.6.1 February 2020 Update allows local users to disable security features via unauthorised use of the configuration tool from older versions of ENS.
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 confidenceImproper access control in McAfee Endpoint Security (ENS) Configuration Tool prior to version 10.6.1 allows local authenticated users to bypass authorization checks and disable security features by using the configuration tool from older ENS versions.
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< 10.6.1CVSS 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
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
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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Identify installed McAfee Endpoint Security versionRetrieve the product version of McAfee Endpoint Security through system information, product about page, or installed programs list. Common methods include checking the Windows registry key for the product or viewing the version in the ENS user interface under Help > About.Affected if The installed version is lower than 10.6.1
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Locate the ENS configuration tool executableIdentify the path to the Endpoint Security configuration tool on the system. This is typically found in the ENS installation directory.Affected if The configuration tool from an older ENS version is present on the system alongside a current installation, or if running an ENS version prior to 10.6.1 with the configuration tool accessible.
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Verify access control configuration on the configuration toolInspect the permissions and access control settings on the ENS configuration tool executable to determine if proper authorization enforcement is configured.Affected if The configuration tool permits execution by local authenticated users without proper authorization checks, allowing them to disable security features.
The environment is affected if McAfee Endpoint Security version is below 10.6.1 and the configuration tool is accessible to local authenticated users without proper access controls.
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 data10.6.1
Upgrade McAfee Endpoint Security to version 10.6.1 February 2020 Update or later to enforce proper access controls on the configuration tool.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-7251 — 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-2020-7251 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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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