CVE-2021-31836
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 privilege management vulnerability in maconfig for McAfee Agent for Windows prior to 5.7.4 allows a local user to gain access to sensitive information. The utility was able to be run from any location on the file system and by a low privileged user.
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 confidenceThe maconfig utility in McAfee Agent for Windows prior to version 5.7.4 has improper privilege management, allowing low-privileged local users to run the utility from any location on the filesystem and access sensitive information that should be restricted.
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< 5.7.4CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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 McAfee Agent versionCheck the installed version using the McAfee Agent information. On Windows, you can query the version via registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\McAfee\Agent\Version or by running 'MASETUP_X64.exe /version' or checking the file version of the McAfee Agent executable in the installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\McAfee\Agent).Affected if The installed version is earlier than 5.7.4 (e.g., 5.7.3, 5.7.0, etc.) or cannot be determined to be 5.7.4 or later.
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Locate the maconfig utilitySearch for maconfig.exe in the McAfee Agent installation directory. Default paths include C:\Program Files\McAfee\Agent\maconfig.exe or C:\Program Files (x86)\McAfee\Agent\maconfig.exe. Also check if the file exists using 'where maconfig.exe' from an elevated command prompt.Affected if The maconfig.exe file exists in the McAfee Agent installation directory.
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Verify maconfig is accessible to low-privileged usersCheck file permissions on maconfig.exe using 'icacls' or file properties Security tab. Specifically, examine if Users group or Authenticated Users have Execute or Read permissions. Run 'icacls "C:\Program Files\McAfee\Agent\maconfig.exe"' from a standard user account to confirm low-privilege access.Affected if Standard (non-admin) users can read or execute the maconfig.exe file.
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Test execution from non-standard directoryAs a low-privileged user, attempt to copy or run maconfig.exe from a user-writable directory (e.g., %TEMP% or Desktop) to confirm the vulnerability allows execution outside the installation folder.Affected if The maconfig utility can be successfully executed by a low-privileged user from a location outside the protected McAfee installation directory.
If McAfee Agent version is below 5.7.4 AND the maconfig.exe utility is accessible to and executable by standard (non-privileged) users, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2021-31836.
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.
dbcve · scoped5.7.4
Upgrade McAfee Agent for Windows to version 5.7.4 or later to remediate the improper privilege management in the maconfig utility.
McAfee Agent 5.7.4
- Obtain McAfee Agent version 5.7.4 or later from the official McAfee download portal or your licensed McAfee ePO server
- Deploy the upgraded McAfee Agent package to all affected Windows systems using your standard deployment method (ePO, SCCM, or manual installation)
- Verify the installation by checking the McAfee Agent version on target systems
- Confirm the maconfig utility now enforces proper privilege management and cannot be executed from arbitrary locations by low-privileged users
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 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-2021-31836 — 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-2021-31836 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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