dbcve.org
Windows 10 1507Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2024-26173

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
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 · moderate confidence

This is a Windows Kernel elevation of privilege vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 (HIGH). The vulnerability exists in the Windows kernel and allows an attacker to escalate their privileges from a lower privilege level to higher system privileges. The specific technical details of the exploitation mechanism are not available in the provided description.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2024-26173 as soon as possible, typically through Windows Update or by deploying the relevant patch through enterprise patch management systems.

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
    Run 'winver' from command prompt or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to display the installed Windows version and build number
    Affected if The displayed build number is below the threshold for your Windows version (1507: <20526, 1607: <6796, 1809: <5576, 21h2: <4170, 22h2: <4170, 11_21h2: <2836, 11_22h2: <3296, 11_23h2: <3296)
  2. Confirm exact build via registry
    Run 'reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion" /v CurrentBuildNumber' and 'reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion" /v UBR' to get the precise build and UBR revision numbers
    Affected if The combined build number (CurrentBuildNumber.UBR) is lower than the fixed version for your Windows release branch
  3. Check Windows Update history
    Run 'powershell Get-WindowsUpdateLog' or check the installed updates via 'powershell Get-HotFix' to see if the security update for CVE-2024-26173 (March 2024 Patch Tuesday or later) has been installed
    Affected if The March 2024 security update or later for this CVE is not listed in installed updates

You are affected if your Windows build number falls below the specified threshold for your version AND the March 2024 security update 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 the Microsoft security update for CVE-2024-26173 as soon as possible, typically through Windows Update or by deploying the relevant patch through enterprise patch management systems.

Recommended fix High confidence

Install the latest Windows security updates (KB5007401 or later, depending on your specific Windows version)

  1. Open Windows Settings by pressing Win+I
  2. Navigate to Update & Security > Windows Update
  3. Click 'Check for updates' to download and install the latest security updates
  4. Restart your computer when prompted to complete the installation
  5. Verify the update was installed by checking Windows Update history
Caveat Standard Windows update - may require restart and brief downtime

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
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,560
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,096.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-26173 — 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-2024-26173 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