What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-31836?

CVE-2021-31836 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.1 (High). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.2%.

Mcafee Agent CVE-2021-31836

HIGH

Improper Privilege Management (CWE-269)

2021-09-22 trellixpsirt@trellix.com

Privilege Escalation Microsoft Mcafee Agent Mcafee

7.1

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-269 OWASP Top 10:2025 A06:2025 - Insecure Design ASVS 5.0 V8 - Authorization Least privilege enforcement MITRE ATT&CK 1 technique across 1 tactic: Privilege Escalation The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. Sign in to read
Impact	CVSS score of 7.1 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction not required.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	A local attacker with access to the system could escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).

No patch listed yet 0.2% exploitation probability (EPSS)

Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.

Alert me

AnalysisAI

Improper privilege management vulnerability in maconfig for McAfee Agent for Windows prior to 5.7.4 allows a local user to gain access to sensitive information. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Apply principle of least privilege, validate privilege transitions, implement proper role separation.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as Improper Privilege Management (CWE-269), which allows attackers to escalate privileges to gain unauthorized elevated access. Improper privilege management vulnerability in maconfig for McAfee Agent for Windows prior to 5.7.4 allows a local user to gain access to sensitive information. The utility was able to be run from any location on the file system and by a low privileged user. Affected products include: Mcafee Mcafee Agent. Version information: prior to 5.7.4.

Know when Mcafee Agent gets its next vulnerability

Watch products and get an email when something new is published
Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

Continue with Google Continue with GitHub

No credit card · 7-day full trial

Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 7.1 HIGH

AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

None

DescriptionNVD

Improper privilege management vulnerability in maconfig for McAfee Agent for Windows prior to 5.7.4 allows a local user to gain access to sensitive information. The utility was able to be run from any location on the file system and by a low privileged user.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score

0.2%

Top 91% exploitable

Data Quality

2 sources

Confidence: Low

NVD

CVE.org

EPSS

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue

Severity HIGH

CISA KEV No

Public POC No

EPSS 0.2%

Patch available No

Active threat No

Deciding rule

HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)

What every action level means

Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.

Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived

Defer

Exploitation· derived

None

System Exposure· derived

Small

Automatable· derived

Human Impact· derived

Medium

Priority Score

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: 0

EPSS: 0

CVSS: +36

PoC: 0

Weaponized: 0

Threat intel: 0

Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Privilege Escalation HIGH

Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.