Security Bulletin - McAfee Agent for Windows update addresses weak directory permissions (CVE-2019-3592)
Security Bulletins ID:
SB10288
Last Modified: 2022-05-04 16:01:47 Etc/GMT
Last Modified: 2022-05-04 16:01:47 Etc/GMT
Summary
First Published: July 8, 2019
Article contents:
When MA is installed, it includes a tool to facilitate product updates. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need to gain administrator rights on the target machine and place certain files in the MA directory, preventing MA from triggering product updates. Permissions have been updated to prevent users with administrator rights from placing or modifying files in the MA directory.
CVE-2019-3592
Privilege escalation vulnerability in McAfee Agent (MA) before 5.6.1 HF3, allows local administrator users to potentially disable some McAfee processes by manipulating the MA directory control and placing a carefully constructed file in the MA directory.
https://web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/detail?vulnId=CVE-2019-3592
https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2019-3592
Remediation
To remediate this issue, install the versions shown in the table below.
Go to the Product Downloads site, and download the applicable product update/hotfix file:
Download and Installation Instructions
For instructions to download product updates and hotfixes, see KB56057 - How to download Enterprise product updates and documentation. Review the Release Notes and Installation Guide for instructions on how to install these updates. All documentation is available at our Product Documentation site.
Acknowledgments
We credit Edsel Valle from NSS Labs for reporting this flaw.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do I know if my product is vulnerable?
For Endpoint products:
Use the following instructions for endpoint or client-based products:
Use the following instructions for ePO:
Verify the version and build of ePO that is installed. For information about how to verify the version, see: KB52634.
What is CVSS?
CVSS, or Common Vulnerability Scoring System, is the result of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council's effort to standardize a system of assessing the criticality of a vulnerability. This system offers an unbiased criticality score between 0 and 10, which customers can use to judge the criticality of a vulnerability and plan accordingly. For more information, visit the CVSS website at: http://www.first.org/cvss/.
When calculating CVSS scores, we've adopted a philosophy that fosters consistency and repeatability. Our guiding principle for CVSS scoring is to score the exploit under consideration by itself. We consider only the immediate and direct impact of the exploit under consideration. We do not factor into a score any potential follow-on exploits that might be made possible by the successful exploitation of the issue being scored.
What are the CVSS scoring metrics?
CVE-2019-3592: MA for Windows update addresses weak directory permissions
NOTE: The following CVSS version 3.0 vector was used to generate this score.
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln-metrics/cvss/v3-calculator?vector=AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C
Where can I find a list of all Security Bulletins?
All Security Bulletins are published on our Knowledge Center. Security Bulletins are retired (removed) once a product is both End of Sale and End of Support (End of Life).
How do I report a product vulnerability to you?
If you have information about a security issue or vulnerability with a product, follow the instructions provided in KB95563 - Report a vulnerability.
How do you respond to this and any other reported security flaws?
Our key priority is the security of our customers. If a vulnerability is found within any of our software or services, we work closely with the relevant security software development team to ensure the rapid and effective development of a fix and communication plan.
We only publish Security Bulletins if they include something actionable such as a workaround, mitigation, version update, or hotfix. Otherwise, we would simply be informing the hacker community that our products are a target, putting our customers at greater risk. For products that are updated automatically, a non-actionable Security Bulletin might be published to acknowledge the discoverer.
To view our PSIRT policy, see KB95564 - About PSIRT.
Resources
Disclaimer
The information provided in this Security Bulletin is provided as is without warranty of any kind. We disclaim all warranties, either express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event shall we or our suppliers be liable for any damages whatsoever including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, loss of business profits, or special damages, even if we or our suppliers have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Some states don't allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, so the preceding limitation may not apply.
Any future product release dates mentioned in this Security Bulletin are intended to outline our general product direction, and they shouldn't be relied on in making a purchasing decision. The product release dates are for information purposes only, and may not be incorporated into any contract. The product release dates aren't a commitment, promise, or legal obligation to deliver any material, code, or functionality. The development, release, and timing of any features or functionality described for our products remain at our sole discretion and may be changed or canceled at any time.
| Impact of Vulnerability: | Privilege escalation vulnerability |
| CVE ID: | CVE-2019-3592 |
| Severity Rating: | High |
| CVSS v3 Base/Temporal Scores: | 7.2 / 6.5 |
| Recommendations: | Install or update to McAfee Agent (MA) 5.5.4 or MA 5.6.1 Hotfix 3 (HF3) or later |
| Security Bulletin Replacement: | None |
| Affected Software: | MA for Windows 5.x before 5.6.1 HF3 |
| Location of updated software: | Product Downloads site |
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Article contents:
- Vulnerability Description
- Remediation
- Acknowledgments
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Resources
- Disclaimer
When MA is installed, it includes a tool to facilitate product updates. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need to gain administrator rights on the target machine and place certain files in the MA directory, preventing MA from triggering product updates. Permissions have been updated to prevent users with administrator rights from placing or modifying files in the MA directory.
CVE-2019-3592
Privilege escalation vulnerability in McAfee Agent (MA) before 5.6.1 HF3, allows local administrator users to potentially disable some McAfee processes by manipulating the MA directory control and placing a carefully constructed file in the MA directory.
https://web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/detail?vulnId=CVE-2019-3592
https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2019-3592
Remediation
To remediate this issue, install the versions shown in the table below.
Go to the Product Downloads site, and download the applicable product update/hotfix file:
| Product | Versions | Type | File Name | Release Date |
| MA for Windows | 5.6.1 HF3 | Hotfix | MA561Hotfix3WIN.zip MA561Hotfix3WIN_EMBEDDED.zip |
July 17, 2019 |
| MA for Windows | 5.5.4 | Update | MA554WIN.zip MA554WIN_EMBEDDED.zip |
March 10, 2020 |
Download and Installation Instructions
For instructions to download product updates and hotfixes, see KB56057 - How to download Enterprise product updates and documentation. Review the Release Notes and Installation Guide for instructions on how to install these updates. All documentation is available at our Product Documentation site.
Acknowledgments
We credit Edsel Valle from NSS Labs for reporting this flaw.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do I know if my product is vulnerable?
For Endpoint products:
Use the following instructions for endpoint or client-based products:
- Right-click the McAfee tray shield icon on the Windows taskbar.
- Select Open Console.
- In the console, click Action Menu.
- In the Action Menu, click Product Details. The product version displays.
Use the following instructions for ePO:
Verify the version and build of ePO that is installed. For information about how to verify the version, see: KB52634.
What is CVSS?
CVSS, or Common Vulnerability Scoring System, is the result of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council's effort to standardize a system of assessing the criticality of a vulnerability. This system offers an unbiased criticality score between 0 and 10, which customers can use to judge the criticality of a vulnerability and plan accordingly. For more information, visit the CVSS website at: http://www.first.org/cvss/.
When calculating CVSS scores, we've adopted a philosophy that fosters consistency and repeatability. Our guiding principle for CVSS scoring is to score the exploit under consideration by itself. We consider only the immediate and direct impact of the exploit under consideration. We do not factor into a score any potential follow-on exploits that might be made possible by the successful exploitation of the issue being scored.
What are the CVSS scoring metrics?
CVE-2019-3592: MA for Windows update addresses weak directory permissions
| Base Score | 7.2 |
| Attack Vector (AV) | Local (L) |
| Attack Complexity (AC) | High (H) |
| Privileges Required (PR) | High (H) |
| User Interaction (UI) | Required (R) |
| Scope (S) | Changed (C) |
| Confidentiality (C) | High (H) |
| Integrity (I) | High (H) |
| Availability (A) | High (H) |
| Temporal Score (Overall) | 6.5 |
| Exploitability (E) | Proof-of-Concept (P) |
| Remediation Level (RL) | Official Fix (O) |
| Report Confidence (RC) | Confirmed (C) |
NOTE: The following CVSS version 3.0 vector was used to generate this score.
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln-metrics/cvss/v3-calculator?vector=AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C
Where can I find a list of all Security Bulletins?
All Security Bulletins are published on our Knowledge Center. Security Bulletins are retired (removed) once a product is both End of Sale and End of Support (End of Life).
How do I report a product vulnerability to you?
If you have information about a security issue or vulnerability with a product, follow the instructions provided in KB95563 - Report a vulnerability.
How do you respond to this and any other reported security flaws?
Our key priority is the security of our customers. If a vulnerability is found within any of our software or services, we work closely with the relevant security software development team to ensure the rapid and effective development of a fix and communication plan.
We only publish Security Bulletins if they include something actionable such as a workaround, mitigation, version update, or hotfix. Otherwise, we would simply be informing the hacker community that our products are a target, putting our customers at greater risk. For products that are updated automatically, a non-actionable Security Bulletin might be published to acknowledge the discoverer.
To view our PSIRT policy, see KB95564 - About PSIRT.
Resources
To contact Technical Support, go to the Create a Service Request page and log on to the ServicePortal.
- If you are a registered user, type your User ID and Password, and then click Log In.
- If you are not a registered user, click Register and complete the fields to have your password and instructions emailed to you.
Disclaimer
The information provided in this Security Bulletin is provided as is without warranty of any kind. We disclaim all warranties, either express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event shall we or our suppliers be liable for any damages whatsoever including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, loss of business profits, or special damages, even if we or our suppliers have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Some states don't allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, so the preceding limitation may not apply.
Any future product release dates mentioned in this Security Bulletin are intended to outline our general product direction, and they shouldn't be relied on in making a purchasing decision. The product release dates are for information purposes only, and may not be incorporated into any contract. The product release dates aren't a commitment, promise, or legal obligation to deliver any material, code, or functionality. The development, release, and timing of any features or functionality described for our products remain at our sole discretion and may be changed or canceled at any time.
