Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This flaw could let a local, low-privileged user bypass intended McAfee ENS self-protection rules using a carefully crafted input file. It is not remote by itself and has high complexity, but it can weaken endpoint defenses on machines where an attacker already has local access.
Executive priority
Treat as a medium-priority endpoint hardening issue. It does not appear to enable remote compromise alone, but unpatched systems may let attackers weaken security controls after gaining local access.
Technical view
CVE-2020-7259 is an exploitation of privilege/trust issue in McAfee Endpoint Security 10.x before the 10.7.0 February 2020 Update. CVSS v3.1 rates it 6.6: local attack vector, high complexity, low privileges, user interaction required, changed scope, and high integrity impact. CWE-264 is cited.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely limited to endpoints still running McAfee Endpoint Security 10.x before the 10.7.0 February 2020 Update. Organizations that fully updated or replaced ENS should have lower exposure, pending asset verification.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show known active exploitation, and the CVE is not listed as KEV. Exploitation requires local access, low privileges, user interaction, and high complexity, so this is more relevant to post-compromise defense weakening than initial access.
Researcher notes
Analysis is limited to the supplied CVE and vendor-reference metadata. The affected product is McAfee ENS 10.x before 10.7.0 February 2020 Update. No exploit details, broad product impact, or active exploitation evidence are present in the provided bundle.
Mitigation direction
- Update McAfee Endpoint Security to 10.7.0 February 2020 Update or later.
- Review McAfee security bulletin SB10309 for vendor-specific remediation guidance.
- Prioritize endpoints where local compromise risk is higher, such as shared or unmanaged systems.
- Retire or isolate systems that cannot be updated promptly.
Validation and detection
- Inventory endpoints running McAfee Endpoint Security 10.x.
- Confirm each ENS installation is at the February 2020 update level or newer.
- Check vulnerability management records for CVE-2020-7259 findings.
- Review endpoint security telemetry for unusual self-protection bypass or tampering events.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-264: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2020-7259 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.6 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:L
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:L0.85.3Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.6MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:H/A:L
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=SB10309CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls
Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.