# CVE-2020-7308: Transmission of data in clear text by McAfee ENS

> Remote attackers can intercept sensitive data transmitted in cleartext between McAfee ENS and GTI servers via DNS, potentially altering responses.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 15 Apr 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-xhp8-xqff-cr9g

## What is CVE-2020-7308?

CVE-2020-7308 is a medium-severity vulnerability in McAfee,LLC McAfee Endpoint Security (ENS) for WIndows, published on 15 Apr 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information between McAfee Endpoint Security (ENS) for Windows prior to 10.7.0 February 2021 Update and McAfee Global Threat Intelligence (GTI) servers using DNS allows a remote attacker to view the requests from ENS and responses from GTI over DNS. By gaining control of an intermediate DNS server or altering the network DNS configuration, it is possible for an attacker to intercept requests and send their own responses.

Weakness: CWE-319 (Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-7308?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Mcafee Endpoint Security.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-7308?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-7308 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-7308 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-7308 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in McAfee,LLC McAfee Endpoint Security (ENS) for WIndows

- [CVE-2020-7319](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7319/): Improper Access Control Vulnerability in ENS for Windows (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2020-7264](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7264/): Privilege Escalation vulnerability through symbolic links in ENS for Windows (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2020-7265](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7265/): Privilege Escalation vulnerability through symbolic links in ENSM (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2019-3582](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-3582/): McAfee Endpoint Security updates fix a privilege escalation vulnerability (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2020-7257](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7257/): Privilege Escalation vulnerability through Symbolic links in ENS (high 8.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-7308 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-7308 is a medium-severity vulnerability in McAfee,LLC McAfee Endpoint Security (ENS) for WIndows, published on 15 Apr 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-7308 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: McAfee,LLC McAfee Endpoint Security (ENS) for WIndows. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7308/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7308/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-7308
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-7308
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-7308

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-7308/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.