dbcve.org
Mcafee AgentApplication · Mcafee

CVE-2021-31841

HIGH · 7.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-09-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.7.4 or later.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated

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 · unedited
A DLL sideloading vulnerability in McAfee Agent for Windows prior to 5.7.4 could allow a local user to perform a DLL sideloading attack with an unsigned DLL with a specific name and in a specific location. This would result in the user gaining elevated permissions and the ability to execute arbitrary code as the system user, through not checking the DLL signature.

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 confidence

A DLL sideloading vulnerability in McAfee Agent for Windows versions prior to 5.7.4 allows a local authenticated user to place an unsigned DLL with a specific name in a specific location, which the application loads without verifying its signature. This enables local privilege escalation to SYSTEM level, allowing arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges.

MitigationUpgrade McAfee Agent to version 5.7.4 or later to implement proper DLL signature validation before loading.

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
Mcafee AgentApplication
Affected:< 5.7.4

CVSS 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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Determine if McAfee Agent is installed
    Check the installed programs list in Windows Control Panel or use the command 'wmic product get name,version' to list installed software, or check the registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\McAfee\Agent
    Affected if McAfee Agent appears in the installed software list
  2. Identify the installed McAfee Agent version
    Run 'mfeinst.exe -version' from the McAfee Agent installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\McAfee\Agent or C:\Program Files (x86)\McAfee\Agent), or check the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\McAfee\Agent\Version
    Affected if A version number is returned that is lower than 5.7.4
  3. Verify the vulnerability threshold
    Compare the installed version number to 5.7.4 using standard version comparison (for example, 5.7.3 < 5.7.4, 5.7.0 < 5.7.4)
    Affected if The installed version is less than 5.7.4 (for example, 5.7.3, 5.6.x, or any 5.x version below 5.7.4)
  4. Confirm the application can load DLLs from its directory
    Check if the McAfee Agent installation directory exists and examine whether the process is configured to load DLLs from that location by reviewing the application configuration or observing normal operation
    Affected if McAfee Agent is running and its installation directory contains executable files that load additional DLLs at runtime

A system is affected by this CVE if McAfee Agent for Windows is installed with a version number lower than 5.7.4.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.7.4 or later
Fixed in 5.7.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade McAfee Agent to version 5.7.4 or later to implement proper DLL signature validation before loading.

Recommended fix High confidence

5.7.4

  1. Obtain McAfee Agent version 5.7.4 or later from McAfee's official download repository or update server
  2. Deploy the updated McAfee Agent package to affected Windows systems using your standard McAfee deployment method (e.g., ePolicy Orchestrator, manual installation, or push installation)
  3. Restart the McAfee Agent service if required by the installation process
  4. Verify that the McAfee Agent version is now 5.7.4 or later by checking the agent properties in the console or via command line

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Mcafee Agent Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
Get the upgrade done

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

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-31841 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data