Exploited

CVE-2021-23874

McAfee Total Protection (MTP) · Security products

McAfee Total Protection (MTP) Improper Privilege Management Vulnerability

At a glance

Exploited. Added to CISA’s catalog of exploited vulnerabilities on November 3, 2021.

Affected product: McAfee Total Protection (MTP) (category Security products, indicative classification). Name in CISA’s catalog: McAfee McAfee Total Protection (MTP).

What should I do?

Apply the security update from McAfee.

Deadline set by CISA for US federal agencies: 14 days (due November 17, 2021). It only binds those agencies, but it is a useful measure of urgency.

The vendor’s specific advisory is listed in the NVD references: CVE-2021-23874 on the NVD website.

Original text of the required action (CISA)

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Timeline

February 10, 2021 Vulnerability published Publication date (NVD)
November 3, 2021 Exploitation confirmed Added to CISA’s KEV catalog
November 17, 2021 CISA deadline Remediation deadline set for US federal agencies

The facts, with their sources

Exploitation confirmed: Yes, on November 3, 2021 Date added to the catalog of exploited vulnerabilities. Exploitation itself may have started earlier. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
Ransomware: No known use to date That does not guarantee it is not being used: the information is not public. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
Hunt for compromise: Not requested by CISA Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
CISA required action: Apply the security update from McAfee. Rewritten by this site from CISA’s original text. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
CISA deadline: November 17, 2021, 14 days Set for US federal agencies: a measure of urgency, not an obligation elsewhere. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
Vulnerability published: February 10, 2021 Source: National Vulnerability Database (NVD), collected September 29, 2026 at 15:00 UTC
Product according to CISA: McAfee McAfee Total Protection (MTP) Filed by this site under “Security products” (indicative classification). Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Technical detail of the score: attack vector, complexity, impact. Source: National Vulnerability Database (NVD), collected September 29, 2026 at 15:00 UTC

Severity and activity

7.8 / 10 CVSS severity: high

Score from the NVD. Collected Sep 29, 2026.

— Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS)

FIRST’s EPSS model. Since exploitation is already confirmed, this figure is mostly useful to compare activity. Collected Sep 29, 2026.

Description

Arbitrary Process Execution vulnerability in McAfee Total Protection (MTP) prior to 16.0.30 allows a local user to gain elevated privileges and execute arbitrary code bypassing MTP self-defense.

McAfee Total Protection (MTP) contains an improper privilege management vulnerability that allows a local user to gain elevated privileges and execute code, bypassing MTP self-defense.

Summary from CISA (KEV catalog).

CERT-FR advisories

No advisory among the latest CERT-FR publications this site follows. That does not mean there are none.

Information reused under the Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab); the date of last update is shown for each advisory. This site is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by ANSSI.

Sources for this page

CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, required action, deadline, ransomware.
NVD (NIST): CVSS severity, publication date, description, vendor references.
EPSS (FIRST): probability of exploitation.
CERT-FR: advisories and alerts (in French).
Brand and category: indicative classification by this site (method).