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CVE-2024-38202

Windows Update Stack Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

7.3 High

Summary Microsoft was notified that an elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Windows Update, potentially enabling an attacker with basic user privileges to reintroduce previously mitigated vulnerabilities or circumvent some features of Virtualization Based Security (VBS). However, an attacker attempting to exploit this vulnerability requires additional interaction by a privileged user to be successful. Microsoft has developed a security update to mitigate this threat which was made available October 08, 2024 and is provided in the Security Updates table of this CVE for customers to download. Note: Depending on your version of Windows, additional steps may be required to update Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) to be protected from this vulnerability. Please refer to the FAQ section for more information. Guidance for customers who cannot immediately implement the update is provided in the Recommended Actions section of this CVE to help reduce the risks associated with this vulnerability and to protect their systems. If there are any further updates regarding mitigations for this vulnerability, this CVE will be updated and customers will be notified. We highly encourage customers to subscribe to Security Update Guide notifications to receive an alert if an update occurs. Details A security researcher informed Microsoft of an elevation of privilege vulnerability in Windows Update potentially enabling an attacker with basic user privileges to reintroduce previously mitigated vulnerabilities or circumvent some features of VBS. For exploitation to succeed, an attacker must trick or convince an Administrator or a user with delegated permissions into performing a system restore which inadvertently triggers the vulnerability. Microsoft has developed a security update to mitigate this threat which was made available October 08, 2024 and is provided in the Security Updates table of this CVE for customers to download. Note: Depending on your version of Windows, additional steps may be required to update Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) to be protected from this vulnerability. Please refer to the FAQ section for more information. Guidance for customers who cannot immediately implement the update is provided in the Recommended Actions section of this CVE to help reduce the risks associated with this vulnerability and to protect their systems. If there are any further... See more at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-38202

Attack profile

How easy it is to exploit

Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges needed
Low
User interaction
Required

What an attacker can affect

Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Exploit likelihood

1.68%Up 1.6 points since Aug 13, 2024
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

CVE List Score used 7.3

Windows Update Stack Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Summary Microsoft was notified that an elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Windows Update, potentially enabling an attacker with basic user privileges to reintroduce previously mitigated vulnerabilities or circumvent some features of Virtualization Based Security (VBS). However, an attacker attempting to exploit this vulnerability requires additional interaction by a privileged user to be successful. Microsoft has developed a security update to mitigate this threat which was made available October 08, 2024 and is provided in the Security Updates table of this CVE for customers to download. Note: Depending on your version of Windows, additional steps may be required to update Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) to be protected from this vulnerability. Please refer to the FAQ section for more information. Guidance for customers who cannot immediately implement the update is provided in the Recommended Actions section of this CVE to help reduce the risks associated with this vulnerability and to protect their systems. If there are any further updates regarding mitigations for this vulnerability, this CVE will be updated and customers will be notified. We highly encourage customers to subscribe to Security Update Guide notifications to receive an alert if an update occurs. Details A security researcher informed Microsoft of an elevation of privilege vulnerability in Windows Update potentially enabling an attacker with basic user privileges to reintroduce previously mitigated vulnerabilities or circumvent some features of VBS. For exploitation to succeed, an attacker must trick or convince an Administrator or a user with delegated permissions into performing a system restore which inadvertently triggers the vulnerability. Microsoft has developed a security update to mitigate this threat which was made available October 08, 2024 and is provided in the Security Updates table of this CVE for customers to download. Note: Depending on your version of Windows, additional steps may be required to update Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) to be protected from this vulnerability. Please refer to the FAQ section for more information. Guidance for customers who cannot immediately implement the update is provided in the Recommended Actions section of this CVE to help reduce the risks associated with this vulnerability and to protect their systems. If there are any further... See more at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-38202

Record
CVE-2024-38202
CVSS 3.1
7.3 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:U/RC:C
Weakness
CWE-284
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2024-37170 7.3

Summary Microsoft was notified that an elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Windows Update, potentially enabling an attacker with basic user privileges to reintroduce previously mitigated vulnerabilities or circumvent some features of Virtualization Based Security (VBS). However, an attacker attempting to exploit this vulnerability requires additional interaction by a privileged user to be successful. Microsoft has developed a security update to mitigate this threat which was made available October 08, 2024 and is provided in the Security Updates table of this CVE for customers to download. Note: Depending on your version of Windows, additional steps may be required to update Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) to be protected from this vulnerability. Please refer to the FAQ section for more information. Guidance for customers who cannot immediately implement the update is provided in the Recommended Actions section of this CVE to help reduce the risks associated with this vulnerability and to protect their systems. If there are any further updates regarding mitigations for this vulnerability, this CVE will be updated and customers will be notified. We highly encourage customers to subscribe to Security Update Guide notifications to receive an alert if an update occurs. Details A security researcher informed Microsoft of an elevation of privilege vulnerability in Windows Update potentially enabling an attacker with basic user privileges to reintroduce previously mitigated vulnerabilities or circumvent some features of VBS. For exploitation to succeed, an attacker must trick or convince an Administrator or a user with delegated permissions into performing a system restore which inadvertently triggers the vulnerability. Microsoft has developed a security update to mitigate this threat which was made available October 08, 2024 and is provided in the Security Updates table of this CVE for customers to download. Note: Depending on your version of Windows, additional steps may be required to update Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) to be protected from this vulnerability. Please refer to the FAQ section for more information. Guidance for customers who cannot immediately implement the update is provided in the Recommended Actions section of this CVE to help reduce the risks associated with this vulnerability and to protect their systems. If there are any further... See more at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-38202

Record
EUVD-2024-37170
CVSS 3.1
7.3 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:U/RC:C
Updated
2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-gw56-mg6j-26qj 7.3

Summary Microsoft was notified that an elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Windows...

Summary Microsoft was notified that an elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Windows Backup, potentially enabling an attacker with basic user privileges to reintroduce previously mitigated vulnerabilities or circumvent some features of Virtualization Based Security (VBS). However, an attacker attempting to exploit this vulnerability requires additional interaction by a privileged user to be successful. Microsoft is developing a security update to mitigate this threat, but it is not yet available. Guidance to help customers reduce the risks associated with this vulnerability and to protect their systems until the mitigation is available in a Windows security update is provided in the Recommended Actions section of this CVE. This CVE will be updated, and customers will be notified when the official mitigation is available in a Windows security update. We highly encourage customers to subscribe to Security Update Guide notifications to receive an alert when this update occurs. Details A security researcher informed Microsoft of an elevation of privilege vulnerability in Windows Backup potentially enabling an attacker with basic user privileges to reintroduce previously mitigated vulnerabilities or circumvent some features of VBS. For exploitation to succeed, an attacker must trick or convince an Administrator or a user with delegated permissions into performing a system restore which inadvertently triggers the vulnerability. Microsoft is developing a security update that will mitigate this vulnerability, but it is not yet available. This CVE will be updated with new information and links to the security updates once available. We highly encourage customers subscribe to Security Update Guide notifications to be alerted of updates. See Microsoft Technical Security Notifications and Security Update Guide Notification System News: Create your profile now – Microsoft Security Response Center. Microsoft is not aware of any attempts to exploit this vulnerability. However, a public presentation regarding this vulnerability was hosted at BlackHat on August 7, 2024. The presentation was appropriately coordinated with Microsoft but may change the threat landscape. Customers concerned with these risks should reference the guidance provided in the Recommended Actions section to protect their systems. Recommended Actions The following recommendations do not mitigate the vulnerability but can be used to reduce the risk of exploitation until the security update is available.

Audit users with permission to perform Backup and Restore operations to ensure only the appropriate users can perform these operations.

Audit: Audit the use of Backup and Restore privilege (Windows 10) - Windows 10 | Microsoft Learn

Implement an Access Control List or Discretionary Access Control Lists to restrict the access or modification of Backup files and perform Restore operations to appropriate users, for example administrators only.

Access Control overview | Microsoft Learn Discretionary Access Control Lists (DACL)

Auditing sensitive privileges used to identify access, modification, or replacement of Backup related files could help indicate attempts to exploit this vulnerability.

Audit Sensitive Privilege Use - Windows 10 | Microsoft Learn

Record
GHSA-gw56-mg6j-26qj
CVSS 3.1
7.3 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-284
Updated
2026-11-02
NVD 7.3

Summary Microsoft was notified that an elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Windows Update, potentially enabling an attacker with basic user privileges to reintroduce previously mitigated vulnerabilities or circumvent some features of Virtualization Based Security (VBS). However, an attacker attempting to exploit this vulnerability requires additional interaction by a privileged user to be successful. Microsoft has developed a security update to mitigate this threat which was made available October 08, 2024 and is provided in the Security Updates table of this CVE for customers to download. Note: Depending on your version of Windows, additional steps may be required to update Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) to be protected from this vulnerability. Please refer to the FAQ section for more information. Guidance for customers who cannot immediately implement the update is provided in the Recommended Actions section of this CVE to help reduce the risks associated with this vulnerability and to protect their systems. If there are any further updates regarding mitigations for this vulnerability, this CVE will be updated and customers will be notified. We highly encourage customers to subscribe to Security Update Guide notifications to receive an alert if an update occurs. Details A security researcher informed Microsoft of an elevation of privilege vulnerability in Windows Update potentially enabling an attacker with basic user privileges to reintroduce previously mitigated vulnerabilities or circumvent some features of VBS. For exploitation to succeed, an attacker must trick or convince an Administrator or a user with delegated permissions into performing a system restore which inadvertently triggers the vulnerability. Microsoft has developed a security update to mitigate this threat which was made available October 08, 2024 and is provided in the Security Updates table of this CVE for customers to download. Note: Depending on your version of Windows, additional steps may be required to update Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) to be protected from this vulnerability. Please refer to the FAQ section for more information. Guidance for customers who cannot immediately implement the update is provided in the Recommended Actions section of this CVE to help reduce the risks associated with this vulnerability and to protect their systems. If there are any further... See more at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-38202

Record
CVE-2024-38202
CVSS 3.1
7.3 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness
CWE-284
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected products

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History

History
RecordedChangedSources
first indexedCVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD

Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.

In short

CVE-2024-38202 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.3) in Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1607, published August 8, 2024. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.68%, the 77th percentile. No source names a fixed version.

References

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