dbcve.org
Windows 10 1507Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2024-21446

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-03-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.10240.20526 / 10.0.14393.6796 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

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
NTFS 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

NTFS Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability in Windows operating systems allowing a local attacker to gain elevated privileges via manipulation of NTFS filesystem metadata or access controls.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for CVE-2024-21446 or install latest Windows security patches through Windows Update.

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
Windows 10 1507Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.10240.20526
Windows 10 1607Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.14393.6796
Windows 10 1809Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.5576
Windows 10 21h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19044.4170
Windows 10 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19045.4170
Windows 11 21h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22000.2836
Windows 11 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22621.3296
Windows 11 23h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22631.3296

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

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Windows version and build number
    Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and run 'winver' to see the Windows release and build, or use 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"'. Alternatively, in PowerShell run '[System.Environment]::OSVersion.Version' to get the build number.
    Affected if The build number falls below the threshold for your Windows release: 10.0.10240.20526 (Win10 1507), 10.0.14393.6796 (Win10 1607), 10.0.17763.5576 (Win10 1809), 10.0.19044.4170 (Win10 21h2), 10.0.19045.4170 (Win10 22h2), 10.0.22000.2836 (Win11 21h2), 10.0.22621.3296 (Win11 22h2), or 10.0.22631.3296 (
  2. Confirm exact Windows release version
    Run 'winver' to see the specific Windows release (such as 'Version 22H2' or 'Windows 11 version 23H2'). On Windows 10, you can also run 'systeminfo' and check the 'OS Version' field which includes the build and the release name like '21H2'.
    Affected if Your Windows release matches any of the affected versions (1507, 1607, 1809, 21h2, 22h2 for Windows 10, or 21h2, 22h2, 23h2 for Windows 11) AND the build number is below the corresponding threshold.
  3. Check if security update KB5007401 or CVE-2024-21446 fix is installed
    In PowerShell, run 'Get-HotFix -Description "Security Update" | Sort-Object InstalledOn -Descending | Select-Object -First 10' to list recent security updates. Alternatively, open Settings > Windows Update > View update history to see installed patches.
    Affected if The security update addressing CVE-2024-21446 (typically bundled in the February 2024 or later monthly security rollup) is not installed, meaning the system remains vulnerable.

You are affected if your Windows build number is lower than the threshold listed for your specific Windows release version, indicating the security patch for CVE-2024-21446 has not been applied.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 10.0.10240.20526 / 10.0.14393.6796 / 10.0.17763.5576 or later
Fixed in 10.0.10240.2052610.0.14393.679610.0.17763.5576
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates for CVE-2024-21446 or install latest Windows security patches through Windows Update.

Recommended fix High confidence

Install the KB for CVE-2024-21446 (February 2024 Security Update) reaching the fixed build version for your Windows release branch

  1. 1. Identify the current Windows version by running 'winver' or 'systeminfo' in Command Prompt
  2. 2. Determine which Windows 10 or 11 release branch is currently installed (e.g., 1507, 1607, 1809, 21h2, 22h2, or 23h2)
  3. 3. Open Windows Settings and navigate to 'Update & Security' > 'Windows Update'
  4. 4. Click 'Check for updates' to download and install the latest security updates
  5. 5. Alternatively, manually download and install the specific KB patch from Microsoft Update Catalog matching your Windows version
  6. 6. After installation, restart the system to apply the security update
  7. 7. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed release: Windows 10 1507: 10.0.10240.20526 | Windows 10 1607: 10.0.14393.6796 | Windows 10 1809: 10.0.17763.5576 | Windows 10 21h2: 10.0.19044.4170 | Windows 10 22h2: 10.0.19045.4170 | Windows 11 21h2: 10.0.22000.2836 | Windows 11 22h2: 10.0.22621.3296 | Windows 11 23h2: 10.0.22631.3296
Caveat Standard Windows security update; no breaking changes expected for typical users

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

Fix this in Windows 10 1507 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,540
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,464.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-21446 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2024-21446 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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