McAfee Total Protection (MTP) privilege escalation vulnerability
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
Privilege Escalation vulnerability in McAfee Total Protection (MTP) prior to 16.0.30 allows a local user to gain elevated privileges and perform arbitrary file deletion as the SYSTEM user potentially causing Denial of Service via manipulating Junction link, after enumerating certain files, at a specific time.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
- Fix · CNA McAfee Total Protection (MTP) (McAfee,LLC) Fixed in 16.0.30
Fixed in the same release
Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.
- Release ·
McAfee,LLC McAfee Total Protection (MTP) 16.0.30
3 records Highest priority Priority CRITICAL 1 CRITICAL, 2 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2021-06229 McAfee Total Protection (MTP) privilege escalation vulnerabilityPriority CRITICAL 95
- TI-2021-06230 McAfee Total Protection (MTP) Bypass Remote Procedure call vulnerabilityPriority LOW 34
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2021-23873
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-99j6-pf9p-h77c
- 2026-10-14 EPSS moved to the 50th–90th percentile
References
More McAfee Total Protection vulnerabilities
- TI-2021-06229 McAfee Total Protection (MTP) privilege escalation vulnerability KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.2
- TI-2020-05888 Improper privilege management in McAfee Total Protection CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2020-05933 Improper privilege management in McAfee Total Protection Trial CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2009-01282 The AV engine before DAT 5600 in McAfee VirusScan, Total Protection, Internet Security… CVSS 2.0HIGH 7.6
- TI-2022-21485 McAfee Total Protection prior to version 16.0.49 contains an uncontrolled search path… CVSS 3.1HIGH 7.8
- TI-2020-05903 Total Protection (MTP) - Unexpected behavior violation CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
Sources
- CVE-2021-23873 · CVE Program
- CVE-2021-23873 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-99j6-pf9p-h77c · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
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