CVE-2021-31847
Improper privilege management in repair process of MA for Windows
Improper access control vulnerability in the repair process for McAfee Agent for Windows prior to 5.7.4 could allow a local attacker to perform a DLL preloading attack using unsigned DLLs. This would result in elevation of privileges and the ability to execute arbitrary code as the system user, through not correctly protecting a temporary directory used in the repair process and not checking the DLL signature.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
Improper privilege management in repair process of MA for Windows
Improper access control vulnerability in the repair process for McAfee Agent for Windows prior to 5.7.4 could allow a local attacker to perform a DLL preloading attack using unsigned DLLs. This would result in elevation of privileges and the ability to execute arbitrary code as the system user, through not correctly protecting a temporary directory used in the repair process and not checking the DLL signature.
- Record
CVE-2021-31847- CVSS 3.1
- 8.2 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-269, CWE-347
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2021-18722
Improper access control vulnerability in the repair process for McAfee Agent for Windows prior to 5.7.4 could allow a local attacker to perform a DLL preloading attack using unsigned DLLs. This would result in elevation of privileges and the ability to execute arbitrary code as the system user, through not correctly protecting a temporary directory used in the repair process and not checking the DLL signature.
- Record
EUVD-2021-18722- CVSS 3.1
- 8.2 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-4h6j-v5px-xwg7
Improper access control vulnerability in the repair process for McAfee Agent for Windows prior to...
Improper access control vulnerability in the repair process for McAfee Agent for Windows prior to 5.7.4 could allow a local attacker to perform a DLL preloading attack using unsigned DLLs. This would result in elevation of privileges and the ability to execute arbitrary code as the system user, through not correctly protecting a temporary directory used in the repair process and not checking the DLL signature.
- Record
GHSA-4h6j-v5px-xwg7- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-269, CWE-347, CWE-427
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
Improper access control vulnerability in the repair process for McAfee Agent for Windows prior to 5.7.4 could allow a local attacker to perform a DLL preloading attack using unsigned DLLs. This would result in elevation of privileges and the ability to execute arbitrary code as the system user, through not correctly protecting a temporary directory used in the repair process and not checking the DLL signature.
- Record
CVE-2021-31847- CVSS 3.1
- 8.2 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 6.9 Medium
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C - Weakness
- CWE-269, CWE-347, CWE-427
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2021-31847 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 8.2) in Mcafee Agent, published September 22, 2021. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.40%, the 34th percentile. No source names a fixed version.