Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-23896 is a low-severity issue in McAfee Database Security before 4.8.2. An administrator using the DBSec interface could see an unencrypted password for the McAfee Insights Server account used to send DBSec data. The exposed account is described as limited to DBSec data in Insights Server.
Executive priority
Treat this as a low-priority hygiene fix unless DBSec administrators are broadly assigned or the Insights Server data is especially sensitive. Schedule remediation through normal patch governance and confirm no overprivileged administrator access exists.
Technical view
The issue is CWE-319, cleartext transmission or exposure of sensitive information, in the DBSec administrator interface prior to 4.8.2. CVSS 3.1 is 3.2 with adjacent attack vector, high privileges, user interaction required, low confidentiality and integrity impact, and no availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to environments running McAfee Database Security before 4.8.2 with McAfee Insights Server integration configured. The source bundle does not provide specific affected build ranges beyond “prior to 4.8.2,” nor CPE identifiers.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not indicate active exploitation, public exploit availability, or CISA KEV listing. Practical abuse appears constrained because high privileges and user interaction are required, and the visible credential is described as restricted to DBSec data in Insights Server.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE description and McAfee advisory reference. Do not assume broader credential exposure, remote exploitation, or unrestricted Insights Server access. The key research questions are exact affected builds, whether 4.8.2 fully remediates it, and whether local configuration affects exposure.
Mitigation direction
- Review McAfee advisory SB10359 for the vendor-approved remediation path.
- Upgrade McAfee Database Security to 4.8.2 or later where applicable.
- Limit DBSec administrator interface access to authorized administrators only.
- Follow vendor guidance for handling any exposed Insights Server credential.
Validation and detection
- Inventory McAfee Database Security deployments and record installed versions.
- Confirm whether any deployment is older than 4.8.2.
- Check whether McAfee Insights Server integration is configured.
- Review DBSec administrator roles and interface access permissions.
- Document whether vendor advisory SB10359 remediation has been applied.
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-319: 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 lookupCredential and access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references authentication or credential exposure, so valid-account and credential-access review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupDatabase behavior lookup
The CVE wording references database injection or access, so collection and exfiltration review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-23896 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
- Low
- CVSS
- 3.2 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:L/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:A/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N0.72.5Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
3.2LowVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://kc.mcafee.com/corporate/index?page=content&id=SB10359CVE 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.
Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information
Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.