CVE-2019-17201
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 · uneditedFastTrack Admin By Request 6.1.0.0 supports group policies that are supposed to allow only a select range of users to elevate to Administrator privilege at will. When a user requests elevation using the AdminByRequest.exe interface, the interface communicates with the underlying service (Audckq32.exe) using a .NET named pipe. If the underlying service responds that a user is permitted access to the elevation feature, the client then reinitiates communication with the underlying service and requests elevation. This elevation request has no local checks in the service, and depends on client-side validation in the AdminByRequest.exe interface, i.e., it is a vulnerable exposed functionality in the service. By communicating directly with the underlying service, any user can request elevation and obtain Administrator privilege regardless of group policies or permissions.
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 · high confidenceThe Audckq32.exe service exposes an elevation function via .NET named pipes that relies entirely on client-side validation from AdminByRequest.exe instead of performing server-side authorization checks. By directly communicating with the service bypassing the client interface, any local user can request and obtain Administrator privileges, completely bypassing group policy restrictions.
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 data< 6.2.0.0CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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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Confirm Admin By Request installationCheck if Admin By Request software is installed on the system. Look for the application in Program Files or Program Files (x86) directories, or check the Windows installed programs list.Affected if The software is present on the system and is version 6.1.0.0 or lower (any version below 6.2.0.0).
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Verify installed versionLocate the AdminByRequest.exe or Audckq32.exe executable in the installation directory and check its file version property. Compare against the affected range of versions below 6.2.0.0.Affected if The installed version number is less than 6.2.0.0, indicating the vulnerable version is in use.
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Check Audckq32.exe service statusOpen Windows Services (services.msc) and locate the Audckq32.exe service, or run 'sc query' for the service. Determine if it is currently running.Affected if The Audckq32.exe service is installed and running, enabling the vulnerable named pipe elevation function.
The system is affected if Admin By Request version 6.1.0.0 or lower is installed and the Audckq32.exe service is active, allowing any local user to exploit the client-side validation bypass and obtain Administrator privileges.
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 data6.2.0.0
Implement server-side authorization validation in the Audckq32.exe service to verify user group membership and policy compliance before granting elevation, rather than trusting client-provided validation.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,040.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-17201 — 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-2019-17201 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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