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Data Loss Prevention DiscoverApplication · Mcafee

CVE-2021-31845

HIGH · 7.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-09-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.6.100 / 11.7.100 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 buffer overflow vulnerability in McAfee Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Discover prior to 11.6.100 allows an attacker in the same network as the DLP Discover to execute arbitrary code through placing carefully constructed Ami Pro (.sam) files onto a machine and having DLP Discover scan it, leading to remote code execution with elevated privileges. This is caused by the destination buffer being of fixed size and incorrect checks being made on the source size.

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

Buffer overflow vulnerability in McAfee DLP Discover when parsing Ami Pro (.sam) files. The scanner uses a fixed-size destination buffer without properly validating the source data size, allowing an attacker to achieve remote code execution with elevated privileges by having DLP Discover scan a specially crafted .sam file.

MitigationUpgrade to DLP Discover version 11.6.100 or later. As an interim measure, disable .sam file scanning or isolate DLP Discover systems from untrusted file sources.

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
Data Loss Prevention DiscoverApplication
Affected:< 11.6.100>= 11.7.0, < 11.7.100

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. Verify McAfee DLP Discover is installed
    Check for DLP Discover installation using your system inventory or by searching for DLP Discover components in Program Files or the McAfee installation directory
    Affected if DLP Discover software is not present on the system, the vulnerability does not apply
  2. Determine the installed DLP Discover version
    Use the McAfee ePO console, check the DLP Discover application properties, or run the McAfee product information command for DLP Discover to retrieve the exact version number
    Affected if Unable to retrieve version information, proceed to next check with available data
  3. Compare your version against affected ranges
    Check if your installed version is less than 11.6.100, or greater than or equal to 11.7.0 but less than 11.7.100. Versions 11.6.100 through 11.7.0 (exclusive) and 11.7.100 and later are not affected
    Affected if Your version falls within < 11.6.100 or >= 11.7.0 and < 11.7.100, indicating the vulnerable version is installed
  4. Verify if .sam file scanning is enabled
    Check the DLP Discover scanner configuration settings in the ePO console or scanner policy to determine whether Ami Pro (.sam) file parsing and content extraction is enabled
    Affected if .sam file scanning is enabled and your version is vulnerable, the buffer overflow can be triggered when scanning a specially crafted .sam file
  5. Assess if DLP Discover processes untrusted files
    Review the data sources and file repositories configured for DLP Discover scanning to determine if the scanner ingests files from untrusted or external sources
    Affected if DLP Discover scans files from untrusted sources and runs a vulnerable version with .sam scanning enabled, the system is at risk of remote code execution

You are affected if DLP Discover is installed with a version less than 11.6.100 or between 11.7.0 and 11.7.100, and .sam file scanning is enabled on a system that processes files from untrusted sources.

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 11.6.100 / 11.7.100 or later
Fixed in 11.6.10011.7.100
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to DLP Discover version 11.6.100 or later. As an interim measure, disable .sam file scanning or isolate DLP Discover systems from untrusted file sources.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to DLP Discover 11.6.100 or later (for versions < 11.7.0), or 11.7.100 or later (for versions >= 11.7.0)

  1. 1. Identify the current installed version of McAfee Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Discover by checking the product console or using the McAfee ePO system.
  2. 2. If the current version is less than 11.6.100, plan to upgrade to version 11.6.100 or later (preferably the latest 11.6.x release).
  3. 3. If the current version is 11.7.0 through 11.7.99, plan to upgrade to version 11.7.100 or later (preferably the latest 11.7.x release).
  4. 4. Download the appropriate updated DLP Discover installation package from the McAfee Knowledge Base (kc.mcafee.com) or your McAfee authorized download site.
  5. 5. Follow McAfee's standard upgrade procedures for DLP Discover, ensuring proper backup of configuration settings.
  6. 6. After upgrade, verify the DLP Discover version is now at 11.6.100+ or 11.7.100+ using the product console.
  7. 7. Test that DLP Discover scanning functionality operates normally after the upgrade.
Caveat Review McAfee DLP release notes for any compatibility changes or configuration adjustments required when moving to the new version

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

Fix this in Data Loss Prevention Discover Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,540
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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-2021-31845 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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