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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 25 Mar 2024. Known ransomware use
Windows 10 1809Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2024-21338

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Developing Published 2024-02-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.17763.5458 / 10.0.19044.4046 or later.
See remediation →
96/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Ransomware High EPSS Public exploit Zero-click Patch available

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 · unedited
Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

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 · low confidence
Developing — this CVE was published recently and its authoritative NVD entry is still being established, so we're holding a technical summary until the source data settles rather than publish something unreliable. Re-checking after 2026-08-23.

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
Windows 10 1809Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.5458
Windows 10 21h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19044.4046
Windows 10 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19045.4046
Windows 11 21h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22000.2777
Windows 11 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22621.3155
Windows 11 23h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22631.3155
Windows Server 2019Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.5458
Windows Server 2022Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.20348.2322

CVSS 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

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 10.0.17763.5458 / 10.0.19044.4046 / 10.0.19045.4046 or later
Fixed in 10.0.17763.545810.0.19044.404610.0.19045.4046
Vendor patch msrc.microsoft.com →
Recommended fix High confidence

Install the appropriate Windows security update for your version from Microsoft Update Catalog - the fixed builds are: Windows 10 1809/Server 2019: 10.0.17763.5458 | Windows 10 21h2: 10.0.19044.4046 | Windows 10 22h2: 10.0.19045.4046 | Windows 11 21h2: 10.0.22000.2777 | Windows 11 22h2: 10.0.22621.3

  1. Identify the specific Windows version and build number by running 'winver' or 'systeminfo'
  2. Navigate to Windows Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update
  3. Check for updates and install all pending Windows security updates
  4. If using Windows Server, run 'wuauclt /detectnow /updatenow' or use Server Manager to check for updates
  5. Restart the system after installing updates
  6. Verify the patch was installed by checking the installed updates list or running 'systeminfo' to confirm the build number matches or exceeds the fixed version (e.g., 10.0.17763.5458 for Windows 10 1809/Server 2019, 10.0.20348.2322 for Server 2022)
Caveat Standard Windows update - no breaking changes expected for typical deployments; test in staging if concerned

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $1,950. Get it fixed fast

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-21338 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data