CVE-2021-31852
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 · uneditedA Reflected Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability in McAfee Policy Auditor prior to 6.5.2 allows a remote unauthenticated attacker to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the UID request parameter. The malicious script is reflected unmodified into the Policy Auditor web-based interface which could lead to the extract of end user session token or login credentials. These may be used to access additional security-critical applications or conduct arbitrary cross-domain requests.
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 confidenceReflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in McAfee Policy Auditor prior to version 6.5.2. An unauthenticated remote attacker can inject arbitrary JavaScript/HTML via the UID request parameter, which gets reflected unmodified into the web interface. This allows session token or credential theft for further unauthorized access.
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< 6.5.2CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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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Verify McAfee Policy Auditor is installedCheck for the presence of McAfee Policy Auditor on the system. Look for the service or installation directory, typically under C:\Program Files\McAfee\Policy Auditor\ or check Windows Services for 'McAfee Policy Auditor' service.Affected if The software is present on the system
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Determine installed versionOpen Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or right-click the Policy Auditor executable and view Properties > Details to find the File Version. Alternatively, check the registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\McAfee\Policy Auditor for the Version value.Affected if The version shown is less than 6.5.2 (for example, 6.5.1, 6.5.0, or earlier)
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Confirm web interface accessibilityAttempt to access the Policy Auditor web console via browser. The typical URL format is https://hostname:8443/pa/ or check if port 8443 is listening using 'netstat -an | findstr 8443'.Affected if The web interface is accessible and responds to requests
The system is affected if McAfee Policy Auditor is installed with a version lower than 6.5.2 and the web interface is accessible, allowing the UID parameter to be exploited via XSS.
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 · scoped6.5.2
Upgrade McAfee Policy Auditor to version 6.5.2 or later. Additionally, implement input validation and output encoding on the UID parameter as a defense-in-depth measure.
Policy Auditor 6.5.2
- 1. Obtain the McAfee Policy Auditor 6.5.2 or later version from the official McAfee download portal or your McAfee account
- 2. Review the McAfee Policy Auditor 6.5.2 release notes for any specific upgrade requirements or prerequisites
- 3. Create a backup of the current Policy Auditor configuration and database
- 4. Execute the upgrade installer for Policy Auditor 6.5.2 on the applicable server infrastructure
- 5. Verify the upgrade completed successfully by checking the Policy Auditor web interface version
- 6. Confirm the vulnerability is resolved by testing that the UID parameter no longer reflects unsanitized input
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- 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-2021-31852 — 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-2021-31852 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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