Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This vulnerability weakens McAfee Endpoint Security on Windows by allowing a local user to stop certain McAfee protection processes. The main business risk is reduced endpoint protection, which could make follow-on malicious activity harder to block or detect on affected systems.
Executive priority
Treat this as a timely endpoint hardening issue, not a standalone internet-facing emergency. It matters because weakened endpoint protection can reduce resilience during broader attacks, especially on shared or user-accessible Windows systems.
Technical view
CVE-2020-7277 is a CWE-693 protection mechanism failure in McAfee Endpoint Security for Windows 10.x before the 10.7.0 April 2020 Update. The CVSS 3.1 score is 6.8, with local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, changed scope, and low confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to Windows endpoints running McAfee Endpoint Security 10.x prior to 10.7.0 April 2020 Update. Systems already updated to that release or later are not identified as affected in the supplied sources.
Exploitation context
The sources describe local abuse that stops certain McAfee ENS processes. The bundle does not cite CISA KEV listing or any public evidence of active exploitation, so active exploitation should not be assumed.
Researcher notes
The vulnerability is local and affects protection integrity rather than exposing a direct remote entry point. Available evidence names the affected product family and fixed update threshold, but does not provide detailed exploit mechanics or active exploitation confirmation.
Mitigation direction
- Update McAfee Endpoint Security for Windows to 10.7.0 April 2020 Update or later.
- Review McAfee security bulletin SB10309 for vendor-specific remediation guidance.
- Prioritize endpoints where local user access is common or broadly available.
- Monitor for unexpected McAfee ENS process termination events.
- Confirm endpoint protection coverage after updating affected systems.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Windows endpoints running McAfee Endpoint Security 10.x.
- Identify versions older than 10.7.0 April 2020 Update.
- Check endpoint logs for unexpected McAfee ENS process stops.
- Confirm the vendor update is deployed on affected endpoints.
- Document any systems requiring exception handling or compensating controls.
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-693: 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-2020-7277 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
- 6.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/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:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L2.53.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.8MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/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.
Protection Mechanism Failure
Protection Mechanism Failure represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.