McAfee Consumer Product Removal Tool: Improper Privilege Management
CVE-2022-1823 is a high-severity improper privilege management vulnerability in McAfee Consumer Product Removal Tool from McAfee, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists version 10.4.128 as the first without the flaw, so updating McAfee Consumer Product Removal Tool to that release or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.27% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update McAfee Consumer Product Removal Tool to 10.4.128 or a later version.
- Update Consumer Product Removal Tool to 10.4.128 or a later version.
- Read the advisory on service.mcafee.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| McAfee | McAfee Consumer Product Removal Tool | before 10.4.128 | 10.4.128 |
| McAfee | Consumer Product Removal Tool | before 10.4.128 | 10.4.128 |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- LowA basic user account is enough.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.
| Scoring system | Score | Severity | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.9 | High | CNA (trellix.com) |
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.8 | High | NVD |
| CVSS 2.0 | 4.6 | Medium | NVD |
Official description
Improper privilege management vulnerability in McAfee Consumer Product Removal Tool prior to version 10.4.128 could allow a local user to modify a configuration file and perform a LOLBin (Living off the land) attack. This could result in the user gaining elevated permissions and being able to execute arbitrary code, through not correctly checking the integrity of the configuration file.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Improper Privilege Management
The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Very carefully manage the setting, management, and handling of privileges. Explicitly manage trust zones in the software.
- Follow the principle of least privilege when assigning access rights to entities in a software system.
- Consider following the principle of separation of privilege. Require multiple conditions to be met before permitting access to a system resource.
More Improper Privilege Management vulnerabilities (CWE-269)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Other vulnerabilities in McAfee Consumer Product Removal Tool
- 8.2 High severity
Recent Improper Privilege Management vulnerabilities
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 7.1 High severity
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