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McAfee Security Bulletin - VirusScan Enterprise and Host Intrusion Prevention update fixes a privilege escalation vulnerability
Security Bulletins ID:   SB10034
Last Modified:  10/2/2014
Rated:

Summary

 
 Who Should Read This Document: Technical and Security Personnel
 Impact of Vulnerability: Privilege Escalation
 CVE Number: None
 US CERT Number: None
 Severity Rating: High
 Overall CVSS Score: 5.6
 Recommendations: Install the provided patches and hotfixes, if needed
 Security Bulletin Replacement: None
 Caveats: None
 Affected Software:

 

  • VirusScan Enterprise (VSE) 8.8 Patch 1
  • VSE 8.8 Patch 2 (when updating from VSE 8.7 Patch 5 OR VSE 8.8 Patch 1)
  • VSE 8.7 Patch 5
  • Host Intrusion Prevention (Host IPS) 8.0 (all versions)
    NOTE: Host IPS 8.0 RTW (8.0.0.1741) is vulnerable if VSE 8.7i Patch 5 r2 (fix available in HF792686) or VSE 8.8 Patch 1 are installed along with Host IPS 8.0 RTW.
 Location of Updated Software:  http://mcafee.com/us/downloads/downloads.aspx

Description

A vulnerability was discovered in a shared component used by VSE and Host IPS that allows for unauthorized privilege escalation. The attacker must be an authenticated user to exploit this flaw. 

This vulnerability exists in the following products:
  • VSE 8.8 Patch 1
  • VSE 8.8 Patch 2 (when updating from VSE 8.7 Patch 5 OR VSE 8.8 Patch 1)
    NOTE: This also applies to SB10034 where Access Protection (AP) has been disabled, even if it is subsequently re-enabled.
  • VSE 8.7 Patch 5
  • Host IPS 8.0 (all versions) 
    NOTE: Host IPS 8.0 RTW (8.0.0.1741) is vulnerable if VSE 8.7i Patch 5 r2 (fix available in HF792686) or VSE 8.8 Patch 1 are installed along with Host IPS 8.0 RTW.
McAfee considers this to be a high priority vulnerability and should be patched soon.
Hotfixes have been created for each of these products to address this vulnerability. 

For the latest information and FAQs for this vulnerability, see KB77192.

Remediation

Go to the McAfee Downloads site and download the applicable product patch/hotfix file:
  1. Open a web browser and navigate to: http://mcafee.com/us/downloads/downloads.aspx.
  2. Provide your valid McAfee grant number.
  3. Click your product suite.
  4. Click the applicable product (see table below) and click I Agree.
  5. Click the Patches tab or click the link to download the product .zip file under Download on the Software Downloads screen.
     
    Product Patch / Hotfix File Name / Information Release Date
    VSE 8.8 Patch 2 and HF805660 VSE88HF805660 February 11, 2013
    VSE 8.7 Patch 5 (release 2) and HF792686 VSE87iHF792686 February 11, 2013
    Host IPS 8.0 Patch 2 and HF791162 HostIPS_Client800_Hotfix791162.Zip February 11, 2013

    IMPORTANT: The order of installation is important. For both VSE 8.8 and Host IPS 8.0, Patch 2 must be installed before the accompanying hotfix.
     
For instructions on how to download McAfee products, documentation, security updates, patches, or hotfixes, see KB56057.

For instructions on how to install the hotfix or patch for your product, review the Release Notes and the Installation Guide (available from the Documentation tab) following the same steps above.

Workaround

There are no known workarounds.

NOTE: Host IPS rules block most Host IPS services from being exploited by Authenticated Users.

Acknowledgements

This security bulletin was written by Harold Toomey, Principal Product Security Architect, Product Security Group, McAfee, Inc.

Support

Corporate Technical Support:
1-800-338-8754
http://www.mcafee.com/us/about/contact-us.aspx#ht=tab-techsupport 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What McAfee software is affected by this security vulnerability?
The following McAfee products are affected:

Affected versions:
  • VSE 8.8 Patch 1
  • VSE 8.8 Patch 2  (when updating from VSE 8.7 Patch 5 OR VSE 8.8 Patch 1)
  • VSE 8.7 Patch 5
  • Host IPS 8.0 (all versions)
    NOTE: Host IPS 8.0 RTW (8.0.0.1741) is vulnerable if VSE 8.7i Patch 5 r2 (fix available in HF792686) or VSE 8.8 Patch 1 are installed along with Host IPS 8.0 RTW.

Protected versions:

  • VSE 8.8 Patch 2 with Hotfix 805660
  • VSE 8.7 Patch 5 with Hotfix 792686
  • Host IPS 8.0 Patch 2 with Hotfix 791162 

McAfee recommends that all customers verify that they have applied the latest updates.

What issues do these patches and hotfixes address?
No CVE entry has been created yet.
 

Does this vulnerability affect McAfee enterprise products?
Yes. Both VSE and Host IPS are enterprise products.


How do I know if my McAfee products are vulnerable or not?

For Windows-based products:
  1. Right-click on the McAfee tray shield icon on the Windows task bar.
  2. Click Open Console.
  3. In the console, click Action Menu.
  4. In the Action Menu, click Product Details.
    The product version is displayed.

What is CVSS?
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 that customers can use to judge how critical a vulnerability is and plan accordingly. For more information, please visit the CVSS website at: http://www.first.org/cvss/.


What are the CVSS scoring metrics that have been used?
 
 Base Score  7.2
 Related exploit range (AccessVector)  Local
 Attack complexity (AccessComplexity)  Low
 Level of authentication needed (Authentication)  None
 Confidentiality impact  Complete
 Integrity impact  Complete
 Availability impact  Complete
 Temporal Score  5.6
 Availability of exploit (Exploitability)  Proof of concept code
 Type of fix available (RemediationLevel)  Official fix
 Level of verification that vulnerability exists (ReportConfidence)  Confirmed

NOTE: CVSS version 2.0 was used to generate this score.
http://nvd.nist.gov/cvss.cfm?calculator&version=2&vector=(AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C/E:P/RL:O/RC:C)


What has McAfee done to resolve the issue?
McAfee has released a set of patches and hotfixes to address this security flaw.

Where do I download the fix?
The fix can be downloaded from: http://mcafee.com/us/downloads/downloads.aspx.
Users will need to provide a valid Grant Number to initiate the download.

How does McAfee respond to this and any other security flaws?
McAfee’s key priority is the security of our customers. In the event that a vulnerability is found within any of McAfee’s software, we work closely with the relevant security research group to ensure rapid and effective development of a fix and communication plan. McAfee is an active member of the Organization for Internet Safety (OIS), which is dedicated to developing guidelines and best practices for the reporting and fixing of software vulnerabilities.

Resources

To download new Beta software or to read about the latest Beta information, go to: http://www.mcafee.com/us/downloads/beta-programs/index.aspx
 
To submit Beta feedback on any McAfee product, email: mcafee_beta@mcafee.com
 
For contact information, go to: http://www.mcafee.com/uk/about/contact-us.aspx
 
For copyright, trademark attributions, and license information, go to: http://us.mcafee.com/root/aboutUs.asp?id=copyright
 
For patents protecting this product, see your product documentation.

Disclaimer

McAfee’s key priority is the security of our customers. In the event that a vulnerability is found within any of McAfee’s software, we work closely with the relevant security research group to ensure rapid and effective development of a fix and communication plan. McAfee is an active member of the Organization for Internet Safety (OIS), which is dedicated to developing guidelines and best practices for the reporting and fixing of software vulnerabilities.

McAfee only publishes product vulnerability bulletins together with an actionable workaround, patch, or hotfix; otherwise we would simply be informing the hacker community that our products are a target, putting our customers at greater risk.

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