CVE-2023-3946
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 (XSS) vulnerability in ePO prior to 5.10 SP1 Update 1allows a remote unauthenticated attacker to potentially obtain access to an ePO administrator's session by convincing the authenticated ePO administrator to click on a carefully crafted link. This would lead to limited access to sensitive information and limited ability to alter some information in ePO.
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 confidenceA reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator (ePO) allows remote unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious scripts via specially crafted URLs. Successful exploitation requires tricking an authenticated ePO administrator into clicking the malicious link, which can lead to session hijacking, limited access to sensitive information, and limited modification capabilities.
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< 5.10.0= 5.10.0CVSS 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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Confirm ePolicy Orchestrator is installedCheck Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\McAfee\ePolicy Orchestrator or look for McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator in Programs and FeaturesAffected if ePO is found in the system
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Identify the ePO versionCheck the ePO version via the console (logged in as administrator, go to Dashboard > About) or read the version from the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\McAfee\ePolicy Orchestrator\InstalledAffected if Version cannot be determined or is missing
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Compare installed version against affected rangeThe affected versions are any build lower than 5.10.0 or exactly 5.10.0. Check your installed build number against this rangeAffected if Installed version is < 5.10.0 or equals 5.10.0 exactly
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Verify the vulnerable component is exposedThis is a reflected XSS in the ePO web interface. If the ePO admin console is accessible over HTTP/HTTPS, the vulnerable endpoint exists. No specific feature toggle needs to be enabled for this XSS to be exploitableAffected if ePO web console is accessible and version is in the affected range
You are affected if McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator is installed and the version is either lower than 5.10.0 or exactly 5.10.0.
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 · scoped5.10.0
Update ePO to version 5.10 SP1 Update 1 or later. Until patched, train administrators to avoid clicking untrusted links and consider implementing URL filtering/browser-based XSS protections.
ePolicy Orchestrator 5.10 SP1 Update 1
- 1. Back up the ePO database and configuration before starting the upgrade process
- 2. Download ePolicy Orchestrator 5.10 SP1 Update 1 from the Trellix download portal or authorized distribution channel
- 3. Review the ePO upgrade guide for prerequisites including disk space, memory requirements, and supported SQL versions
- 4. Stop all ePO services on the server before applying the update
- 5. Run the ePO installer/upgrade executable for version 5.10 SP1 Update 1
- 6. Follow the on-screen installation wizard prompts to complete the upgrade
- 7. After installation, restart ePO services and verify the console is accessible
- 8. Validate that the ePO server is functioning correctly with basic operations
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-3946 — 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-2023-3946 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data