CVE-2020-7264
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 McAfee Endpoint Security (ENS) for Windows prior to 10.7.0 Hotfix 199847 allows local users to delete files the user would otherwise not have access to via manipulating symbolic links to redirect a McAfee delete action to an unintended file. This is achieved through running a malicious script or program on the target machine.
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 confidenceLocal privilege escalation in McAfee Endpoint Security for Windows allows authenticated users to delete arbitrary files they lack permissions for by manipulating symbolic links. The vulnerability exploits ENS's delete functionality through symlink redirection, enabling a low-privilege user to cause McAfee to delete files outside their intended scope.
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, < 10.5.5= 10.6.0= 10.7.0CVSS 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
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/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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Check installed McAfee Endpoint Security versionOpen Windows Registry and navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\McAfee\Endpoint_Securities\ or use 'Get-ItemProperty' in PowerShell at 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\McAfee\Endpoint_Securities\' to find the 'ProductVersion' value. Alternatively, open Programs and Features in Control Panel and locate McAfee Endpoint Security to view the installed version.Affected if The installed version is 10.5.0 through 10.5.4, equals 10.6.0, or equals 10.7.0 (and is not patched with Hotfix 199847 or later).
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Verify ENS file control or quarantine feature is enabledOpen McAfee Endpoint Security console (EPO or local UI) and check the status of File Control or Quarantine settings under the Threat Prevention or Adaptive Threat Protection section. This can also be checked via registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\McAfee\Endpoint_Securities\Policy\ if accessible.Affected if The File Control, Quarantine, or Adaptive Threat Protection feature is enabled, allowing ENS to perform file delete operations on behalf of users.
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Confirm user context can trigger file deletion operationsIdentify whether standard (non-admin) authenticated users on the system can trigger file deletion or quarantine actions through ENS. This typically involves checking if low-privilege users can access the ENS client interface or if automated response policies apply to user-triggered events.Affected if Standard authenticated users have the ability to interact with ENS in a way that triggers file deletion or quarantine operations.
If the installed McAfee Endpoint Security for Windows version falls within 10.5.0 to 10.5.4, equals 10.6.0, or equals 10.7.0, and file deletion/quarantine features are accessible to standard users, the environment is likely affected by this symlink redirection vulnerability.
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 data10.5.5
Update McAfee Endpoint Security for Windows to version 10.7.0 Hotfix 199847 or later to patch the symbolic link handling vulnerability.
- 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-2020-7264 — 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-2020-7264 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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