CVE-2022-0280
McAfee Total Protection (MTP) - File Deletion vulnerability
A race condition vulnerability exists in the QuickClean feature of McAfee Total Protection for Windows prior to 16.0.43 that allows a local user to gain privilege elevation and perform an arbitrary file delete. This could lead to sensitive files being deleted and potentially cause denial of service. This attack exploits the way symlinks are created and how the product works with them.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
McAfee Total Protection (MTP) - File Deletion vulnerability
A race condition vulnerability exists in the QuickClean feature of McAfee Total Protection for Windows prior to 16.0.43 that allows a local user to gain privilege elevation and perform an arbitrary file delete. This could lead to sensitive files being deleted and potentially cause denial of service. This attack exploits the way symlinks are created and how the product works with them.
- Record
CVE-2022-0280- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-367
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2022-15454
A race condition vulnerability exists in the QuickClean feature of McAfee Total Protection for Windows prior to 16.0.43 that allows a local user to gain privilege elevation and perform an arbitrary file delete. This could lead to sensitive files being deleted and potentially cause denial of service. This attack exploits the way symlinks are created and how the product works with them.
- Record
EUVD-2022-15454- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-55vp-4grv-f6mg
A race condition vulnerability exists in the QuickClean feature of McAfee Total Protection for...
A race condition vulnerability exists in the QuickClean feature of McAfee Total Protection for Windows prior to 16.0.43 that allows a local user to gain privilege elevation and perform an arbitrary file delete. This could lead to sensitive files being deleted and potentially cause denial of service. This attack exploits the way symlinks are created and how the product works with them.
- Record
GHSA-55vp-4grv-f6mg- CVSS 3.1
- 6.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-367
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
A race condition vulnerability exists in the QuickClean feature of McAfee Total Protection for Windows prior to 16.0.43 that allows a local user to gain privilege elevation and perform an arbitrary file delete. This could lead to sensitive files being deleted and potentially cause denial of service. This attack exploits the way symlinks are created and how the product works with them.
- Record
CVE-2022-0280- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H - CVSS 3.1
- 7.0 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 3.3 Low
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-367
- 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-2022-0280 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.5) in Mcafee Total Protection For Windows, published March 10, 2022. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.34%, the 27th percentile. No source names a fixed version.