CVE-2021-31854
Code injection vulnerability in McAfee Agent
A command Injection Vulnerability in McAfee Agent (MA) for Windows prior to 5.7.5 allows local users to inject arbitrary shell code into the file cleanup.exe. The malicious clean.exe file is placed into the relevant folder and executed by running the McAfee Agent deployment feature located in the System Tree. An attacker may exploit the vulnerability to obtain a reverse shell which can lead to privilege escalation to obtain root privileges.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- High
- User interaction
- Required
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
Code injection vulnerability in McAfee Agent
A command Injection Vulnerability in McAfee Agent (MA) for Windows prior to 5.7.5 allows local users to inject arbitrary shell code into the file cleanup.exe. The malicious clean.exe file is placed into the relevant folder and executed by running the McAfee Agent deployment feature located in the System Tree. An attacker may exploit the vulnerability to obtain a reverse shell which can lead to privilege escalation to obtain root privileges.
- Record
CVE-2021-31854- CVSS 3.1
- 7.7 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-78
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2021-18729
A command Injection Vulnerability in McAfee Agent (MA) for Windows prior to 5.7.5 allows local users to inject arbitrary shell code into the file cleanup.exe. The malicious clean.exe file is placed into the relevant folder and executed by running the McAfee Agent deployment feature located in the System Tree. An attacker may exploit the vulnerability to obtain a reverse shell which can lead to privilege escalation to obtain root privileges.
- Record
EUVD-2021-18729- CVSS 3.1
- 7.7 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-5jww-7299-jr22
A command Injection Vulnerability in McAfee Agent (MA) for Windows prior to 5.7.5 allows local...
A command Injection Vulnerability in McAfee Agent (MA) for Windows prior to 5.7.5 allows local users to inject arbitrary shell code into the file cleanup.exe. The malicious clean.exe file is placed into the relevant folder and executed by running the McAfee Agent deployment feature located in the System Tree. An attacker may exploit the vulnerability to obtain a reverse shell which can lead to privilege escalation to obtain root privileges.
- Record
GHSA-5jww-7299-jr22- 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-77, CWE-78
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
A command Injection Vulnerability in McAfee Agent (MA) for Windows prior to 5.7.5 allows local users to inject arbitrary shell code into the file cleanup.exe. The malicious clean.exe file is placed into the relevant folder and executed by running the McAfee Agent deployment feature located in the System Tree. An attacker may exploit the vulnerability to obtain a reverse shell which can lead to privilege escalation to obtain root privileges.
- Record
CVE-2021-31854- CVSS 3.1
- 7.7 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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
- 9.3 High
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C - Weakness
- CWE-78
- 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-2021-31854 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.7) in Mcafee Agent, published January 19, 2022. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.01%, the 63rd percentile. No source names a fixed version.