CVE-2020-7259
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 · uneditedExploitation of Privilege/Trust vulnerability in file in McAfee Endpoint Security (ENS) Prior to 10.7.0 February 2020 Update allows local users to bypass local security protection via a carefully crafted input file
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 confidenceThis is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in McAfee Endpoint Security (ENS) where a local user can bypass security protections by using a carefully crafted input file. The vulnerability exists in versions prior to the February 2020 update (10.7.0), allowing local users to circumvent local security 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= 10.5.0= 10.5.1= 10.5.2= 10.5.3= 10.5.4= 10.5.5= 10.6.0CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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.
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Verify McAfee Endpoint Security installation and versionOpen the McAfee Endpoint Security client UI, or use the command 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\SOFTWARE\McAfee\Endpoint_Security' in PowerShell to read the ProductVersion registry valueAffected if The ProductVersion is 10.5.0, 10.5.1, 10.5.2, 10.5.3, 10.5.4, 10.5.5, or 10.6.0
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Confirm version is prior to February 2020 updateCheck the installed build or version detail - affected versions lack the February 2020 update that patches this vulnerabilityAffected if The installed version is 10.6.0 or earlier without the February 2020 patch applied
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Identify local user presenceReview local user accounts on the system using 'Get-LocalUser' in PowerShell or check if non-administrator local accounts existAffected if Local non-administrative user accounts exist on the endpoint, as the privilege escalation targets local users
The environment is affected if McAfee Endpoint Security is installed with a version between 10.5.0 and 10.6.0 inclusive, prior to the February 2020 10.7.0 update, and the system has local user accounts.
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 dataUpdate McAfee Endpoint Security to version 10.7.0 February 2020 Update or later. As a local privilege escalation with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact, prioritize this patch in the deployment cycle.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $2,752.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-7259 — 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-2020-7259 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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