CVE-2020-7324
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 · uneditedImproper Access Control vulnerability in McAfee MVISION Endpoint prior to 20.9 Update allows local users to bypass security mechanisms and deny access to the SYSTEM folder via incorrectly applied permissions.
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 confidenceMcAfee MVISION Endpoint prior to version 20.9 contains an Improper Access Control vulnerability where local users can bypass security mechanisms and deny access to the SYSTEM folder due to incorrectly applied permissions. This is a local privilege boundary issue where the product fails to properly restrict filesystem permissions.
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< 20.9CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/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 MVISION Endpoint is installedCheck the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for an entry named 'McAfee MVISION Endpoint' or query Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product for 'McAfee MVISION Endpoint'Affected if The product is not installed on the system
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Determine installed MVISION Endpoint versionCheck the registry value 'DisplayVersion' under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{Product GUID} for McAfee MVISION Endpoint, or right-click the executable at the installation path and view Properties > DetailsAffected if Installed version is lower than 20.9 (e.g., 20.8.x, 20.7.x, etc.)
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Locate the SYSTEM folder installation pathFind the McAfee installation directory - typically at C:\Program Files\McAfee\SYSTEM or C:\Program Files\McAfee\MVISION\Endpoint\Engine, or check the 'InstallLocation' registry valueAffected if The SYSTEM folder exists at the expected McAfee installation path
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Inspect filesystem permissions on the SYSTEM folderRight-click the SYSTEM folder in the McAfee installation directory, select Properties > Security tab, and review the permissions for Users, Everyone, and other groups. Alternatively, run 'icacls C:\Program Files\McAfee\SYSTEM' from an elevated command promptAffected if Users or non-privileged accounts have permissions that allow modification or deletion of critical system files, or conversely, if permissions are set to explicitly deny access to SYSTEM folder contents needed by the product
A system is affected if McAfee MVISION Endpoint is installed with a version prior to 20.9 AND the SYSTEM folder has incorrectly applied permissions that either allow unauthorized modification or improperly deny legitimate access.
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 data20.9
Update McAfee MVISION Endpoint to version 20.9 or later. For already-deployed systems, audit and correct filesystem permissions on the SYSTEM folder to ensure proper access controls are in place.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-7324 — 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-2020-7324 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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