CVE-2021-23872: Privilege Escalation vulnerability in McAfee Total Protection (MTP)

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.4% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2021-05-12 · updated 2026-06-17
Weakness: CWE-59

Description

Privilege Escalation vulnerability in the File Lock component of McAfee Total Protection (MTP) prior to 16.0.32 allows a local user to gain elevated privileges by manipulating a symbolic link in the IOCTL interface.

Affected products

McAfee,LLC McAfee Total Protection (MTP): before 16.0.32 — fixed in 16.0.32

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: McAfee,LLC McAfee Total Protection (MTP) 16.0.32. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

http://service.mcafee.com/FAQDocument.aspx?&id=TS103146
http://service.mcafee.com/FAQDocument.aspx?&id=TS103146

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