Security Bulletin - VirusScan Enterprise 8.8 for Windows update fixes McTray privilege elevation vulnerability (CVE-2018-6674)
Security Bulletins ID:
SB10237
Last Modified: 2023-01-18 15:17:03 Etc/GMT
Last Modified: 2023-01-18 15:17:03 Etc/GMT
Summary
First Published: May 9, 2018
Article contents:
By default, McTray.exe is configured to run with the logged in user's privileges. If you do not start McTray.exe with elevated privileges, you will not be impacted by this issue.
When the process McTray.exe runs with elevated privileges, VSE might spawn a process inheriting the parent's privileges. This issue exposes the system to be manipulated by an attacker.
CVE-2018-6674
Privilege Escalation vulnerability in Microsoft Windows client (McTray.exe) in McAfee VirusScan Enterprise (VSE) 8.8 earlier than Patch 13 may allow local users to spawn unrelated processes with elevated privileges via the system administrator granting McTray.exe elevated privileges (by default it runs with the current user's privileges).
http://web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/detail?vulnId=CVE-2018-6674
http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2018-6674
Although the vulnerability level score is medium, this issue is only exploitable if McTray.exe is configured to run with elevated privileges, making the risk of exploitation generally low.
Remediation
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.
Mitigation
This issue is only encountered if you elevate the privileges of McTray to have Administrative privileges.
Acknowledgments
We credit the Lockheed Martin Red Team and the Lockheed Martin EDP Team 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:
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 that customers can use to judge how critical a vulnerability is 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?
NOTE: The below CVSS version 3.0 vector was used to generate this score.
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln-metrics/cvss/v3-calculator?vector=AV:P/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:T/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: | Permissions, Privileges, and Access Control (CWE-264) Privilege Escalation (CWE-274) Data Leakage via Privilege Escalation (CWE-269) |
CVE ID: | CVE-2018-6674 |
Severity Rating: | Medium |
CVSS v3 Base/Temporal Scores: | 6.8 / 6.2 |
Recommendations: | Install or update to VirusScan Enterprise (VSE) 8.8 Patch 13 |
Security Bulletin Replacement: | None |
Affected Software: | VSE 8.8 earlier than Patch 13 |
Location of updated software: | Product Downloads site |
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Article contents:
- Vulnerability Description
- Remediation
- Mitigation
- Acknowledgments
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Resources
- Disclaimer
By default, McTray.exe is configured to run with the logged in user's privileges. If you do not start McTray.exe with elevated privileges, you will not be impacted by this issue.
When the process McTray.exe runs with elevated privileges, VSE might spawn a process inheriting the parent's privileges. This issue exposes the system to be manipulated by an attacker.
CVE-2018-6674
Privilege Escalation vulnerability in Microsoft Windows client (McTray.exe) in McAfee VirusScan Enterprise (VSE) 8.8 earlier than Patch 13 may allow local users to spawn unrelated processes with elevated privileges via the system administrator granting McTray.exe elevated privileges (by default it runs with the current user's privileges).
http://web.nvd.nist.gov/view/vuln/detail?vulnId=CVE-2018-6674
http://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2018-6674
Although the vulnerability level score is medium, this issue is only exploitable if McTray.exe is configured to run with elevated privileges, making the risk of exploitation generally low.
Remediation
- Upgrade to VSE 8.8 Patch 13.
- If you are unable to upgrade to VSE 8.8 Patch 13, VSE 8.8 Patch 11 contains the initial fix, with further improvements in VSE 8.8 Patch 12.
Product | Type | Version | Release Date |
VSE | Patch | 8.8 Patch 13 | June 11, 2019 |
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.
Mitigation
This issue is only encountered if you elevate the privileges of McTray to have Administrative privileges.
Acknowledgments
We credit the Lockheed Martin Red Team and the Lockheed Martin EDP Team 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 on the McAfee tray shield icon on the Windows taskbar.
- Select Open Console.
- In the console, select Action Menu.
- In the Action Menu, select Product Details. The product version is displayed.
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 that customers can use to judge how critical a vulnerability is 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-2018-6674: McTray elevation of privileges vulnerability
Base Score | 6.8 |
Attack Vector (AV) | Physical (P) |
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) | 6.2 |
Exploitability (E) | Proof-of-Concept (P) |
Remediation Level (RL) | Temporary Fix (T) |
Report Confidence (RC) | Confirmed (C) |
NOTE: The below CVSS version 3.0 vector was used to generate this score.
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln-metrics/cvss/v3-calculator?vector=AV:P/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:T/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.