CVE-2020-7279
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 · uneditedDLL Search Order Hijacking Vulnerability in the installer component of McAfee Host Intrusion Prevention System (Host IPS) for Windows prior to 8.0.0 Patch 15 Update allows attackers with local access to execute arbitrary code via execution from a compromised folder.
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 confidenceDLL Search Order Hijacking vulnerability in the installer component of McAfee Host Intrusion Prevention System (Host IPS) for Windows allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code by placing a malicious DLL in a folder that gets loaded during the installation process, prior to version 8.0.0 Patch 15 Update.
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= 8.0.0CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 Host IPS installationCheck Programs and Features or the installed programs list for McAfee Host Intrusion Prevention System entry on the Windows systemAffected if McAfee Host IPS is not listed indicates not applicable, but if present continue to version check
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Identify installed version and patch levelUse the product's built-in version check feature, check the Add/Remove Programs entry details, or look in the installation directory for version information. The version format typically shows base version followed by patch level (e.g., 8.0.0.X)Affected if Version shows 8.0.0 with patch level below 15, or version is 8.0.0 without any patch designation indicates potential vulnerability
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Confirm patch update statusCheck if Patch 15 Update has been applied by examining the detailed version string or using McAfee product update status tools if availableAffected if Patch level is unknown, not shown, or below 15 means the system is likely affected by this DLL search order hijacking vulnerability in the installer
A system is affected if McAfee Host Intrusion Prevention version 8.0.0 is installed without Patch 15 Update applied, since the DLL search order hijacking only affects the installer component in versions prior to that update.
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 Host IPS to version 8.0.0 Patch 15 or later to remediate this vulnerability. Additionally, ensure proper physical and logical access controls to prevent unauthorized local access to systems.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-7279 — 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-2020-7279 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data