CVE-2020-7326
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 · uneditedImproperly implemented security check in McAfee Active Response (MAR) prior to 2.4.4 may allow local administrators to execute malicious code via stopping a core Windows service leaving McAfee core trust component in an inconsistent state resulting in MAR failing open rather than closed
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 confidenceThis vulnerability in McAfee Active Response (MAR) prior to 2.4.4 allows local administrators to execute malicious code by stopping a core Windows service. The improperly implemented security check leaves the McAfee core trust component in an inconsistent state, causing MAR to fail open rather than fail closed, effectively disabling security protections.
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< 2.4.4CVSS 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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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 MAR installation existsCheck if McAfee Active Response is installed on the Windows system by looking for the product in Add/Remove Programs, or checking for the MAR installation directory (typically in C:\Program Files\McAfee\ or via registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\McAfee\Active Response)Affected if MAR is not installed or the registry key does not exist, then this CVE is not applicable
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Determine installed MAR versionOpen Windows Registry Editor and navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\McAfee\Active Response\, or run 'wmic product get name,version' to list installed McAfee products and their versionsAffected if The installed version is less than 2.4.4 (for example, 2.4.3, 2.4.2, 2.3.x, etc.)
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Confirm local administrator privilegesThe vulnerability requires a local administrator to stop a core Windows service. Verify current user privileges using 'whoami /groups' or checking if the user is a member of the Administrators groupAffected if The user has local administrator rights and can stop Windows services
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Check for the vulnerable service stateThe vulnerability is triggered when a core Windows service (related to MAR core trust component) is stopped. Use Services.msc or 'sc query' to enumerate running McAfee-related Windows servicesAffected if A McAfee core trust service is in a stopped state or can be stopped by an administrator, leaving MAR in a fail-open state
If McAfee Active Response is installed and the version is below 2.4.4, and the system allows a local administrator to stop core services (leaving security protections disabled), then the environment is affected by this CVE.
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 data2.4.4
Upgrade McAfee Active Response to version 2.4.4 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-2020-7326 — 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-2020-7326 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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