CVE-2020-7287
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 Exploit Detection and Response (EDR) for Linux prior to 3.1.0 Hotfix 1 allows a malicious script or program to perform functions that the local executing user has not been granted access to.
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 confidenceMcAfee Exploit Detection and Response (EDR) for Linux versions prior to 3.1.0 Hotfix 1 contain a local privilege escalation vulnerability that allows an authenticated user with limited privileges to execute functions or access resources that should be restricted to higher-privileged users or administrators.
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< 3.1.0= 3.1.0CVSS 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 EDR for Linux is installedRun 'rpm -qa | grep -i mcafee' or 'dpkg -l | grep -i mcafee' to list installed McAfee packages. Also check for running processes with 'ps aux | grep -i mfe' or 'systemctl list-units | grep -i mfe'.Affected if No McAfee EDR packages or processes are found, meaning the product is not installed.
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Determine the installed EDR versionRun 'rpm -q mfe-edr' or check the installation directory (typically /opt/McAfee/ or /usr/local/McAfee/) for version files. If using the McAfee agent, run '/opt/McAfee/agent/bin/cmdagent -p' to query the product version.Affected if Unable to determine the version - the product may be installed but version info is not accessible.
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Compare version against affected rangeCheck if the installed version is less than 3.1.0 or exactly 3.1.0. Note that version 3.1.0 Hotfix 1 (3.1.0.194 or similar) is the fixed release. Versions prior to 3.1.0 and 3.1.0 without Hotfix 1 are vulnerable.Affected if The installed version is < 3.1.0 or equals exactly 3.1.0 (without Hotfix 1 applied).
If McAfee EDR for Linux is installed and the version is 3.1.0 or any earlier version without Hotfix 1, the system is affected by this local privilege escalation 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 data3.1.0
Upgrade McAfee EDR for Linux to version 3.1.0 Hotfix 1 or later to remediate this vulnerability.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-7287 — 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-2020-7287 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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