CVE-2020-7343
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 · uneditedMissing Authorization vulnerability in McAfee Agent (MA) for Windows prior to 5.7.1 allows local users to block McAfee product updates by manipulating a directory used by MA for temporary files. The product would continue to function with out-of-date detection files.
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 Agent for Windows prior to version 5.7.1 lacks proper authorization controls on a directory used for temporary files. A local unprivileged user can manipulate this directory to prevent the agent from downloading updated detection files, causing the security product to operate with stale definitions.
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< 5.7.1CVSS 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
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
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 installed McAfee Agent versionCheck the Windows registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\McAfee\Agent\Version or right-click the McAfee icon in the system tray and select 'About McAfee Agent' to view the version numberAffected if The version shown is earlier than 5.7.1 (for example, 5.7.0, 5.6.x, or earlier)
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Locate the McAfee Agent temporary file directoryOpen Windows Services, find the 'McAfee Agent' service, view its properties, and note the executable path. Common locations are C:\Program Files\McAfee\Agent\ or C:\ProgramData\McAfee\Agent\Affected if You have identified the McAfee Agent installation directory containing a temporary or temp subfolder
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Examine permissions on the temporary directoryRight-click the temp subfolder within the McAfee Agent directory, select Properties, then Security tab. Check which users and groups have Write or Modify permissionsAffected if Users without administrator privileges (such as standard users or the 'Users' group) have Write or Modify access to this directory
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Verify if detection definition updates are failingOpen the McAfee Agent console or ePO console and check the 'Detection Engine' or 'DAT' version status. Look for last update time and any recent failure messagesAffected if The DAT or detection files have not updated within the expected timeframe, or the agent shows errors downloading updated definitions
You are affected if the installed McAfee Agent version is earlier than 5.7.1 AND unprivileged users can write to the temporary file directory used by the agent, potentially causing definition update failures.
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 data5.7.1
Upgrade McAfee Agent for Windows to version 5.7.1 or later, which implements proper authorization restrictions on the temporary file directory.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-7343 — 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-2020-7343 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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