CVE-2023-40352
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 · uneditedMcAfee Safe Connect before 2.16.1.126 may allow an adversary with system privileges to achieve privilege escalation by loading arbitrary DLLs.
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 confidenceMcAfee Safe Connect before version 2.16.1.126 contains a DLL hijacking vulnerability where the application loads dynamic link libraries without proper path validation. An attacker with system-level access can place a malicious DLL in a location where the application will load it, achieving privilege escalation to higher integrity levels.
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< 2.16.1.126CVSS 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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify McAfee Safe Connect is installedCheck for McAfee Safe Connect in the list of installed programs via Windows Settings > Apps > Apps & features, or query the Windows registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for a display name containing 'McAfee Safe Connect'Affected if McAfee Safe Connect is not present on the system (not vulnerable)
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Find the installed version numberRight-click the Safe Connect executable (typically named SafeConnect.exe or similar in the installation directory, commonly under C:\Program Files\McAfee\Safe Connect\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\McAfee\Safe Connect\) and select Properties > Details to view the File Version, or query the Version registry value under the uninstall registry keyAffected if Unable to determine the version (requires further investigation)
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Compare version to affected rangeCompare the installed version number to the affected range: any version lower than 2.16.1.126 is vulnerable. Version 2.16.1.126 and later are not affectedAffected if The installed version is less than 2.16.1.126 (for example, 2.16.1.125, 2.15.x, 2.14.x, etc.)
The system is affected if McAfee Safe Connect is installed and the version is below 2.16.1.126, since the insecure DLL loading behavior exists in those versions.
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 · scoped2.16.1.126
Upgrade McAfee Safe Connect to version 2.16.1.126 or later to resolve the insecure DLL loading behavior.
2.16.1.126 or later
- 1. Verify the current installed version of McAfee Safe Connect
- 2. If the version is below 2.16.1.126, download the latest version of McAfee Safe Connect from the official McAfee website
- 3. Uninstall the current version of McAfee Safe Connect
- 4. Install the updated version (2.16.1.126 or later)
- 5. Restart the system if prompted
- 6. Verify the installed version is now 2.16.1.126 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-40352 — 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-2023-40352 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