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Anti Malware EngineApplication · Trellix

CVE-2024-0206

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-01-09
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
A symbolic link manipulation vulnerability in Trellix Anti-Malware Engine prior to the January 2024 release allows an authenticated local user to potentially gain an escalation of privileges. This was achieved by adding an entry to the registry under the Trellix ENS registry folder with a symbolic link to files that the user wouldn't normally have permission to. After a scan, the Engine would follow the links and remove the files

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

A symbolic link manipulation vulnerability in Trellix ENS Anti-Malware Engine allows authenticated local users to escalate privileges by adding registry entries containing symbolic links to protected files under the Trellix ENS registry folder. When the engine scans, it follows these symlinks and deletes target files, enabling privilege escalation through arbitrary file deletion.

MitigationApply the January 2024 release (or later) of Trellix ENS Anti-Malware Engine to remediate this vulnerability. This is a vendor patch scenario—no workarounds are indicated.

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
Anti Malware EngineApplication
Affected:= 6600

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 checks

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

  1. Check Trellix ENS Anti-Malware Engine version
    Open the Trellix ENS console or use the product's version information tool to view the installed Anti-Malware Engine version. This is typically found in the product About or System Information section.
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 6600 - this is the only version affected by this CVE according to the provided advisory.
  2. Verify Trellix ENS services are running
    Check that the Trellix ENS Real-Time Scanning service (commonly named 'McAfee Endpoint Security' or 'Trellix Endpoint Security') is enabled and running, as the vulnerability is triggered when the Anti-Malware Engine performs a scan.
    Affected if The engine must be active and configured to perform scans for the symlink-following behavior to occur.
  3. Confirm registry accessibility in Trellix ENS folder
    Inspect the Windows Registry for the presence of the Trellix ENS registry folder (typically under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Trellix or similar product-specific paths) to verify the product is fully installed.
    Affected if The product is installed and the vulnerability applies only to the affected version 6600.

You are affected if the installed Trellix Anti-Malware Engine version is exactly 6600 and the product is actively installed with scanning capabilities enabled.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the January 2024 release (or later) of Trellix ENS Anti-Malware Engine to remediate this vulnerability. This is a vendor patch scenario—no workarounds are indicated.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

January 2024 release or later (Anti-Malware Engine post-6600)

  1. 1. Identify the current version of Trellix Anti-Malware Engine installed in the environment
  2. 2. Upgrade Trellix Anti-Malware Engine to the January 2024 release or later
  3. 3. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the engine version post-installation
  4. 4. Confirm the vulnerability is remediated by ensuring the engine no longer follows symbolic links during scans

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

Fix this in Anti Malware Engine Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2024-0206 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
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