CVE-2021-31833: Security Bulletin - Application and Change Control update fixes one vulnerability (CVE-2021-31833)

First Published: December 30, 2021

Product:

Impacted Versions:

CVE ID:

Impact of Vulnerabilities:

Severity Ratings:

CVSS v3.1
Base/Temporal Scores:

McAfee Application and Change Control (MACC)

Prior to 8.3.4

CVE-2021-31833

CWE-269 – Improper Privilege Management

High

7.1 / 6.4

Recommendations:

Install or update to MACC 8.3.4

Security Bulletin Replacement:

None

Location of updated software:

Product Downloads site

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Article contents:

• Vulnerability Description
• Remediation
• Workaround
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
• Resources
• Disclaimer

Vulnerability Description
To exploit this the attacker would need to copy files around the target machine and rename them. They would then need to follow some specific steps to run the renamed files.

CVE-2021-31833
Potential product security bypass vulnerability in McAfee Application and Change Control (MACC) prior to version 8.3.4 allows a locally logged in attacker to circumvent the application solidification protection provided by MACC, permitting them to run applications that would usually be prevented by MACC. This would require the attacker to rename the specified binary to match name of any configured updater and perform a specific set of steps, resulting in the renamed binary to be to run.
MITRE CVE-2021-31833
NIST CVE-2021-31833
Remediation
To remediate this issue, go to the Product Downloads site, and download the applicable product update file:

Product

Version

Type

Release Date

MACC

8.3.4

Update

December 28, 2021

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 the Installation Guide for instructions on how to install these updates. All documentation is available at our Product Documentation site.
Workaround
McAfee Enterprise strongly recommends installing the updated version of MACC.

If you’re not able to update, you can change the configuration through ePO to mitigate this issue.

WARNING: This might lead to denial of execution to Microsoft and McAfee Enterprise signed binaries if they’re not whitelisted.

1. Log on to the ePO console.
2. Navigate to Policy Catalog, Solidcore, Configuration (Client), McAfee Default (Read Only).
3. Duplicate the McAfee Default (Read Only) policy.
4. Open the copy you just created.
5. Navigate to Certificate configuration.
6. Change the value of Enable VTP trust check to 0 (from 1).
7. Save the policy.
8. Apply the policy to endpoints.

When you do update to the recommended version, you should undo the above change.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do I know if my product is vulnerable or not?

For endpoint products:

Use the following instructions for endpoint or client-based products:

1. Right-click the McAfee tray shield icon on the Windows taskbar.
2. Select Open Console.
3. In the console, select Action Menu.
4. In the Action Menu, select Product Details. The product version displays.

What is CVSS?
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) 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.

When calculating CVSS scores, McAfee Enterprise has 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 don’t 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-2021-31833:

Base Score

7.1

Attack Vector (AV)

Local (L)

Attack Complexity (AC)

Low (L)

Privileges Required (PR)

Low (L)

User Interaction (UI)

None (N)

Scope (S)

Unchanged (U)

Confidentiality ©

None (N)

Integrity (I)

High (H)

Availability (A)

High (H)

Temporal Score (Overall)

6.4

Exploitability (E)

Proof-of-Concept §

Remediation Level (RL)

Official Fix (O)

Report Confidence (RC)

Confirmed ©

NOTE: This CVSS version 3.1 vector was used to generate this score.

Where can I find a list of all Security Bulletins?
All Security Bulletins are published on our external PSIRT website. To see Security Bulletins for McAfee Enterprise products on this website, click Enterprise Security Bulletins. 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 McAfee Enterprise?
If you have information about a security issue or vulnerability with a McAfee Enterprise product, go to the PSIRT website, click Report a Security Vulnerability, and follow the instructions.

How does McAfee Enterprise 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 McAfee Enterprise 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.

McAfee Enterprise only publishes 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.

View our PSIRT policy on the PSIRT website by clicking About PSIRT.
Resources

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Disclaimer
The information provided in this Security Bulletin is provided as is without warranty of any kind. McAfee Enterprise disclaims all warranties, either express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event shall McAfee Enterprise or its suppliers be liable for any damages whatsoever including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, loss of business profits or special damages, even if McAfee Enterprise or its 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 remains at our sole discretion and may be changed or canceled at any time.