CVE-2011-0638
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedMicrosoft Windows does not properly warn the user before enabling additional Human Interface Device (HID) functionality over USB, which allows user-assisted attackers to execute arbitrary programs via crafted USB data, as demonstrated by keyboard and mouse data sent by malware on a smartphone that the user connected to the computer.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceMicrosoft Windows fails to warn or prompt users before allowing connected USB devices to enable additional Human Interface Device (HID) functionality such as keyboard or mouse emulation. This allows a compromised device (e.g., malware-infected smartphone) connected via USB to masquerade as an input device and inject keystrokes to execute arbitrary programs.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE dataall versionsCVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Group Policy USB device control settingsOpen gpedit.msc, navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Device Installation, and check if restrictions on device installation are enabled. Alternatively, run 'gpresult /r' and look for device restriction policies.Affected if No USB device control policies are configured or enforced in Group Policy
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Inspect Windows Registry for USB device restrictionsCheck registry keys under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\DeviceInstall\Settings for values like 'DisableRequestHandle' or 'DisableGlobalInstall' - absence of such restrictions indicates vulnerability.Affected if No USB device installation restrictions are defined in the Windows Registry
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Verify endpoint protection or USB control softwareCheck installed programs for endpoint protection or USB control solutions (e.g., device control, endpoint detection and response). Query running services for USB filtering or device control services.Affected if No third-party endpoint protection or USB device control software is installed or running
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Confirm application whitelisting statusCheck if Windows AppLocker or Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC) policies are enabled. Run 'Get-AppLockerPolicy -Effective' or check HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\SrpV2 for policy existence.Affected if No application whitelisting solution is configured or enabled to block unauthorized code execution
A system is affected if no USB device control policies, endpoint protection with USB controls, or application whitelisting mechanisms are in place to prevent malicious USB HID device emulation attacks.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataImplement USB device control policies via Group Policy or endpoint protection solutions to restrict or monitor USB device enumeration, and deploy application whitelisting to block execution of unauthorized code injected via HID emulation.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-0638 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2011-0638 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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