Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-23883 is a Windows crash risk in McAfee Endpoint Security. A local administrator could trigger a mishandled system call that causes Windows to crash. It is mainly an availability issue, not a data theft or privilege escalation issue based on the provided sources.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate-priority availability fix. It is not described as remotely exploitable or data-exposing, but outdated security software on critical endpoints can still create operational disruption.
Technical view
The issue is a CWE-476 null pointer dereference in McAfee ENS for Windows before the 10.7.0 February 2021 Update. CVSS 3.1 is 4.0 with local attack vector, high complexity, high privileges, required user interaction, and high availability impact only.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to Windows endpoints running McAfee Endpoint Security 10.7.x before the February 2021 Update. Risk is higher where users or operators have local administrator rights on protected systems.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. Exploitation requires local administrator privileges and a machine-dependent condition, reducing broad remote risk but leaving denial-of-service concern.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports a local denial-of-service condition through null pointer dereference. The provided data does not include exploit details, proof of exploitation, or additional affected products. Avoid assuming impact beyond Windows crash availability loss.
Mitigation direction
- Apply McAfee ENS 10.7.0 February 2021 Update where applicable.
- Review McAfee security bulletin SB10345 for vendor-specific guidance.
- Remove unnecessary local administrator rights from Windows endpoints.
- Prioritize critical servers and shared workstations using affected ENS versions.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Windows systems running McAfee Endpoint Security 10.7.x.
- Verify whether the February 2021 Update is installed.
- Check endpoint management records for outdated ENS deployments.
- Review local administrator assignments on affected systems.
- Look for unexplained Windows crash events on affected endpoints.
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-476: 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-2021-23883 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
- 4 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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:H/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H0.33.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
4MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=SB10345CVE 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.
NULL Pointer Dereference
NULL Pointer Dereference represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.