CVE-2020-7316
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 · uneditedUnquoted service path vulnerability in McAfee File and Removable Media Protection (FRP) prior to 5.3.0 allows local users to execute arbitrary code, with higher privileges, via execution and from a compromised folder. This issue may result in files not being encrypted when a policy is triggered.
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 confidenceThis is a Windows unquoted service path vulnerability in McAfee File and Removable Media Protection (FRP). When a service binary path contains spaces and is not enclosed in quotes, Windows will attempt to execute the first word of the path as an executable. A local attacker with write access to an intermediate folder in the path can place a malicious executable that will be executed with elevated (SYSTEM) privileges when the service starts, potentially bypassing encryption policies.
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< 5.3.0CVSS 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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Confirm FRP service is installedRun `sc query FRPService` or check the Windows Services list for a McAfee File and Removable Media Protection serviceAffected if No service found means not vulnerable to this specific issue
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Check FRP installed versionOpen Windows Registry and navigate to `HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\McAfee\FRP\ProductVersion` or right-click the FRP executable in Program Files and view Properties > DetailsAffected if Version is below 5.3.0 (for example, 5.2.x, 5.1.x, etc.) indicates the installation is within the affected version range
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Query service binary pathRun `sc qc FRPService` (or the actual service name found in step 1) and examine the BINARY_PATH_NAME fieldAffected if The path contains spaces and is not surrounded by quotes, for example: `C:\Program Files\McAfee\FRP\frp.exe -service` (unquoted) rather than `"C:\Program Files\McAfee\FRP\frp.exe -service"` (quoted)
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Verify intermediate folder write accessFor each folder in the unquoted path (for example, `C:\Program Files\`), verify if any non-admin user has write permissions using `icacls "C:\Program Files"`Affected if Users without admin rights can write to any folder in the service path, combined with an unquoted path containing spaces, creates the exploit condition
The environment is affected if McAfee FRP is installed with a version below 5.3.0 AND the service binary path contains spaces but is not enclosed in quotes, allowing potential privilege escalation.
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 data5.3.0
Upgrade McAfee File and Removable Media Protection to version 5.3.0 or later, which contains the fix for the unquoted service path. Verify that no malicious binaries exist in the service path directories.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-7316 — 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-2020-7316 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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