dbcve.org
Total ProtectionApplication · Mcafee

CVE-2023-24577

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-03-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 16.0.50 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

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
McAfee Total Protection prior to 16.0.50 allows attackers to elevate user privileges due to Improper Link Resolution via registry keys. This could enable a user with lower privileges to execute unauthorized tasks.

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 · moderate confidence

McAfee Total Protection prior to version 16.0.50 contains an improper link resolution vulnerability in how it handles registry keys, allowing lower-privileged users to manipulate registry references to escalate their privileges and execute unauthorized tasks.

MitigationUpdate McAfee Total Protection to version 16.0.50 or later to remediate this privilege escalation vulnerability.

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
Total ProtectionApplication
Affected:< 16.0.50

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
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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 checks

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

  1. Verify McAfee Total Protection is installed
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like "*McAfee*Total*Protection*"}' in PowerShell
    Affected if McAfee Total Protection appears in the installed programs list
  2. Determine installed version number
    Right-click on McAfee Total Protection in Programs and Features and select Properties, or query the registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\McAfee\Total Protection for the Version value
    Affected if The displayed version is lower than 16.0.50 (e.g., 16.0.49, 16.0.40, etc.)
  3. Confirm vulnerability prerequisite exists
    Check if non-admin users have write permissions to McAfee-related registry keys under HKLM\SOFTWARE\McAfee\ or HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\McAfee\ using 'Get-Acl -Path Registry::HKLM\SOFTWARE\McAfee | Format-List'
    Affected if Non-privileged users have Modify or Write permissions to McAfee registry keys, allowing manipulation of registry references

You are affected if McAfee Total Protection is installed with a version prior to 16.0.50 and unprivileged users can modify McAfee registry keys.

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 16.0.50 or later
Fixed in 16.0.50
Interim mitigation

Update McAfee Total Protection to version 16.0.50 or later to remediate this privilege escalation vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

16.0.50

  1. Check the currently installed McAfee Total Protection version via the GUI or command line (e.g., "C:\Program Files\McAfee\mpf\mpfcon.exe -version" or via Add/Remove Programs)
  2. Download McAfee Total Protection version 16.0.50 or later from the official McAfee website or your enterprise software distribution point
  3. Run the installer with appropriate administrator privileges
  4. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the upgrade process
  5. Restart the system if prompted by the installer
  6. Verify the installed version is 16.0.50 or higher after the upgrade completes

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

Fix this in Total Protection 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

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-24577 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2023-24577 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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