CVE-2021-23895
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 · uneditedDeserialization of untrusted data vulnerability in McAfee Database Security (DBSec) prior to 4.8.2 allows a remote authenticated attacker to create a reverse shell with administrator privileges on the DBSec server via carefully constructed Java serialized object sent to the DBSec server.
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 Database Security prior to 4.8.2 contains a Java deserialization vulnerability where the application deserializes untrusted data without proper validation. An authenticated remote attacker can send a crafted Java serialized object to the DBSec server, achieving remote code execution and establishing a reverse shell with administrator-level privileges.
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< 4.8.2CVSS 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
- Adjacent
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/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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Identify McAfee Database Security installationLocate the DBSec installation directory or check installed programs on the Windows system. The default installation path is typically C:\Program Files\McAfee\Database Security\ or check the Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\McAfee\DBSec for the installation path.Affected if McAfee Database Security is installed on the system
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Determine installed DBSec versionNavigate to the installation directory and locate the version information file, or check the Windows registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\McAfee\DBSec\Version. The application version is also typically displayed in the DBSec management console under Help > About.Affected if The version displayed is any version prior to 4.8.2 (for example, 4.8.1, 4.8.0, 4.7.x, etc.)
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Verify the DBSec management service is running and accessibleCheck if the DBSec Server service (typically named 'McAfee Database Security Server') is running using Services.msc or the command 'sc query DBSecl'. Also verify if the management port (default 5432/tcp) is listening using netstat -an | findstr 5432.Affected if The service is running and the management interface is accessible on the network
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Check for exposed management interfaceReview network firewall rules and listen addresses in the DBSec configuration to determine if the management interface is bound to external or untrusted networks. The configuration file server.properties in the config folder typically contains the 'listen.address' setting.Affected if The management interface is bound to 0.0.0.0 or an IP address accessible from untrusted networks
A system is affected if McAfee Database Security with a version prior to 4.8.2 is installed and the DBSec management service is running and network-accessible to potential attackers.
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 data4.8.2
Upgrade McAfee Database Security to version 4.8.2 or later to remediate this vulnerability. If immediate patching is not feasible, implement network segmentation and restrict access to the DBSec management interface to trusted IP addresses only.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-23895 — 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-2021-23895 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
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