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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 21 May 2024.
Windows 10 1809Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2024-29988

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-04-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.17763.5696 / 10.0.19044.4291 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Remotely reachable No privileges 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
SmartScreen Prompt Security Feature Bypass 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

CVE-2024-29988 is a security feature bypass vulnerability in Microsoft Windows SmartScreen Prompt. SmartScreen is a Windows security feature that displays warnings to users when they attempt to run potentially malicious files or download suspicious content from the internet. This vulnerability allows attackers to bypass the SmartScreen warning mechanism, enabling the execution of malicious code or files that would otherwise be blocked or trigger a user warning.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2024-29988 (released in the relevant Patch Tuesday) to Windows systems. Until patched, exercise extreme caution when executing files or downloading content from untrusted sources, and monitor for signs of the SmartScreen bypass being actively exploited.

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 1809Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.5696
Windows 10 21h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19044.4291
Windows 10 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19045.4291
Windows 11 21h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22000.2899
Windows 11 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22621.3447
Windows 11 23h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22631.3447
Windows Server 2019Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.5696
Windows Server 2022Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.20348.2402

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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. Determine your Windows version
    Run 'winver' from the command prompt or check 'systeminfo' to find the full OS version number (for example, 10.0.19045.4291)
    Affected if The version is lower than any of these: 10.0.17763.5696 (Windows 10 1809/Server 2019), 10.0.19044.4291 (Windows 10 21h2), 10.0.19045.4291 (Windows 10 22h2), 10.0.22000.2899 (Windows 11 21h2), 10.0.22621.3447 (Windows 11 22h2), 10.0.22631.3447 (Windows 11 23h2), 10.0.20348.2402 (Server 2022)
  2. Confirm SmartScreen protection is active
    Open Windows Security > App and browser control > Check reputation-based protection settings, or run 'Get-MpComputerStatus' in PowerShell and verify 'SmartScreenEnabled' is not set to 'Disabled'
    Affected if SmartScreen is disabled or turned off - the bypass only applies when SmartScreen is actively protecting downloads
  3. Verify the security patch is installed
    Open Settings > Windows Update > View update history, or run 'Get-HotFix' in PowerShell and look for recent security updates dated after April 2024 that address CVE-2024-29988
    Affected if No security update containing the CVE-2024-29988 fix has been installed, or the installed Windows version remains below the fixed version numbers listed in step 1

Your environment is affected if you are running any of the Windows versions listed in step 1 and have not applied the corresponding security patch to reach or exceed the fixed version numbers.

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 10.0.17763.5696 / 10.0.19044.4291 / 10.0.19045.4291 or later
Fixed in 10.0.17763.569610.0.19044.429110.0.19045.4291
Vendor patch msrc.microsoft.com →
Interim mitigation

Apply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2024-29988 (released in the relevant Patch Tuesday) to Windows systems. Until patched, exercise extreme caution when executing files or downloading content from untrusted sources, and monitor for signs of the SmartScreen bypass being actively exploited.

Recommended fix High confidence

Install the May 2024 or later Windows cumulative update for your specific Windows version (fixed builds: 17763.5696, 19044.4291, 19045.4291, 22000.2899, 22621.3447, 22631.3447, 20348.2402)

  1. Check current Windows version by running 'winver' or 'systeminfo' in Command Prompt
  2. Open Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update, or run 'ms-settings:windowsupdate'
  3. Click 'Check for updates' to download and install the latest Windows cumulative update containing the fix for CVE-2024-29988
  4. Alternatively, manually install the specific monthly cumulative update for your Windows version from the Microsoft Update Catalog (search for the KB number corresponding to the fixed build: 5034443, 5034444, or similar for your specific Windows version)
  5. After installation completes, restart the computer when prompted
  6. Verify the fix by checking that the Windows version matches or exceeds the fixed build number for your product (e.g., Windows 10 22h2 should be 10.0.19045.4291 or higher)
Caveat Standard Windows update risks - ensure backups and test critical applications before production deployment

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

Fix this in Windows 10 1809 Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,600
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,160.

Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2024-29988 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