CVE-2020-7323
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 · uneditedAuthentication Protection Bypass vulnerability in McAfee Endpoint Security (ENS) for Windows prior to 10.7.0 September 2020 Update allows physical local users to bypass the Windows lock screen via triggering certain detection events while the computer screen is locked and the McTray.exe is running with elevated privileges. This issue is timing dependent and requires physical access to the 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 physical attackers can bypass Windows lock screen protection in McAfee Endpoint Security for Windows prior to 10.7.0 by triggering certain detection events while the screen is locked, provided McTray.exe is running with elevated privileges. This timing-dependent attack requires physical access to the machine.
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< 10.7.0CVSS 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
- Physical
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L
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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Determine McAfee Endpoint Security versionOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, find McAfee Endpoint Security, and note the installed version. Alternatively, right-click the McAfee icon in the system tray and select 'About Endpoint Security' to view the version number.Affected if The installed version is lower than 10.7.0
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Identify McTray.exe processOpen Task Manager, go to the Processes or Details tab, and look for McTray.exe in the list of running processes.Affected if McTray.exe is present in the running processes list
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Check McTray.exe privilege levelIn Task Manager, right-click the McTray.exe process and select 'Run as administrator' to verify if it operates with elevated privileges, or use Process Explorer to view the process token and confirm if it has SeDebugPrivilege or SeBackupPrivilege.Affected if McTray.exe is running with elevated privileges (administrator or system level access)
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Verify lock screen exposureConfirm that the system is configured to use Windows lock screen (Win+L) and that McAfee Endpoint Security is actively protecting the system, as the vulnerability only applies when the lock screen is engaged.Affected if The system uses Windows lock screen protection and McAfee Endpoint Security is installed and active
A system is affected if McAfee Endpoint Security for Windows is installed with a version lower than 10.7.0 and McTray.exe is running with elevated privileges on a workstation protected by the Windows lock screen.
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 data10.7.0
Upgrade to McAfee Endpoint Security 10.7.0 September 2020 Update or later, and ensure McTray.exe does not run with elevated privileges on locked workstations.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-7323 — 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-2020-7323 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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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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