CVE-2024-23774
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in Quest KACE Agent for Windows 12.0.38 and 13.1.23.0. An unquoted Windows search path vulnerability exists in the KSchedulerSvc.exe and AMPTools.exe components. This allows local attackers to execute code of their choice with NT Authority\SYSTEM privileges.
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 confidenceAn unquoted Windows search path vulnerability in Quest KACE Agent's KSchedulerSvc.exe and AMPTools.exe components allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code with NT Authority\SYSTEM privileges. When service executable paths contain spaces and are unquoted, Windows searches for executables in intermediate path directories before the intended binary, enabling privilege escalation via path injection.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check if KACE Agent services are presentRun 'sc query KSchedulerSvc' and 'sc query AMPTools' from an elevated command prompt to query the Windows service control manager for these specific services.Affected if Either service is returned by sc query (service not found means not affected)
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Verify KSchedulerSvc executable pathRun 'sc qc KSchedulerSvc' to retrieve the service binary path configuration, then inspect the BINPATH value for the KSchedulerSvc.exe executable.Affected if BINPATH contains a path to KSchedulerSvc.exe that is unquoted and contains spaces (e.g., C:\Program Files\KACE\...)
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Verify AMPTools executable pathRun 'sc qc AMPTools' to retrieve the service binary path configuration, then inspect the BINPATH value for the AMPTools.exe executable.Affected if BINPATH contains a path to AMPTools.exe that is unquoted and contains spaces
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Check for path injection riskInspect each unquoted path for intermediate directories (folders between the drive letter and the .exe filename) that contain spaces. List the full directory structure for each service binary.Affected if Any intermediate directory in the path contains a space and the entire path is not enclosed in quotation marks
You are affected if Quest KACE Agent is installed with KSchedulerSvc or AMPTools services configured with unquoted executable paths that contain spaces in any directory component before the .exe filename.
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.
dbcve · scopedApply vendor patches from Quest for KACE Agent versions 12.0.38 and 13.1.23.0, or as a workaround, verify service binary paths are properly quoted and restrict write permissions on directories in the service executable path to prevent unauthorized binary placement.
Latest Quest KACE Agent version (contact Quest support for specific build number containing the fix)
- 1. Identify the currently installed Quest KACE Agent version by checking the system or using the KACE inventory.
- 2. Navigate to Quest KACE support portal (support.quest.com) or official download page (www.quest.com) to obtain the latest version.
- 3. Download the latest Quest KACE Agent version that includes the security fix for CVE-2024-23774.
- 4. Follow Quest's standard upgrade procedure for KACE Agent, which typically involves using the KACE SMA or SDA console for deployment.
- 5. After upgrade, verify the KSchedulerSvc.exe and AMPTools.exe services use properly quoted paths in their service configuration.
- 6. Confirm the new version is running and no longer vulnerable to the unquoted path issue.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-23774 — 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-2024-23774 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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