Is CVE-2020-7280 actively exploited?

No active exploitation of CVE-2020-7280 has been confirmed so far. Continue monitoring, as exploit status can change.

Can CVE-2020-7280 be exploited remotely?

No. CVE-2020-7280 requires local access to exploit.

What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-7280?

CVE-2020-7280 has a CVSS score of 7.8 (HIGH).

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HIGH

CVE-2020-7280

CWE-269Published: June 10, 2020· Updated: Jun 17, 2026

7.8

CVSS v3.1

Official Description

Privilege Escalation vulnerability during daily DAT updates when using McAfee Virus Scan Enterprise (VSE) prior to 8.8 Patch 15 allows local users to cause the deletion and creation of files they would not normally have permission to through altering the target of symbolic links. This is timing dependent.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2020-7280 requires local access, meaning attackers must already have a foothold on the target system.

Exploitation requires low privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 7.8.