Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
McAfee Endpoint Security 10.x before the 10.7.0 February 2020 Update had a flaw that could let a local user disable endpoint security protections. This is not a remote internet-facing bug, but it matters on shared, unmanaged, or already-compromised endpoints because it can weaken defensive controls.
Executive priority
Treat as a moderate remediation item. It is not evidenced as actively exploited or remotely reachable, but outdated endpoint security can create a path for attackers to reduce detection after gaining local access.
Technical view
CVE-2020-7261 is a CWE-119 buffer overflow via environment variables in the AMSI component of McAfee Endpoint Security. The CVSS 3.1 score is 6.1. Attack conditions are local, high complexity, low privileges, and user interaction, with potential high confidentiality impact and low integrity impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to systems running McAfee Endpoint Security 10.x before the 10.7.0 February 2020 Update. Organizations without reliable endpoint software inventory may have lingering exposure on older workstations or servers.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. The vulnerability requires local access, low privileges, high complexity, and user interaction, so urgency is lower than remote exploitation issues but still relevant for defense evasion risk.
Researcher notes
The source bundle identifies the affected component as AMSI in McAfee ENS and the issue as environment-variable-triggered buffer overflow. Evidence is limited to CVE metadata and the McAfee bulletin reference; no exploit status, detailed technical root cause, or broader product impact is provided.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade affected ENS 10.x installations to the 10.7.0 February 2020 Update or later.
- Review McAfee security bulletin SB10309 for vendor-specific remediation guidance.
- Prioritize endpoints used by shared, privileged, or high-risk user groups.
- Monitor for attempted disabling or tampering with endpoint security controls.
Validation and detection
- Inventory McAfee Endpoint Security versions across managed endpoints.
- Confirm affected systems are not running versions prior to the February 2020 update.
- Review McAfee SB10309 against internal endpoint baselines.
- Check security tooling for endpoint protection disablement events on older ENS hosts.
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-119: 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-2020-7261 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
- 6.1 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N
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:H/I:L/A:N0.84.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.1MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N
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.
Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer
Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.