CVE-2024-37742
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 · uneditedInsecure Access Control in Safe Exam Browser (SEB) = 3.5.0 on Windows. The vulnerability allows an attacker to share clipboard data between the SEB kiosk mode and the underlying system, compromising exam integrity. By exploiting this flaw, an attacker can bypass exam controls and gain an unfair advantage during exams.
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 confidenceSafe Exam Browser 3.5.0 on Windows contains an insecure access control vulnerability that allows clipboard data to be shared between the SEB kiosk mode and the underlying Windows system. This bypasses the intended kiosk isolation, enabling exam takers to transfer unauthorized content in or out of the exam environment.
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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N
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.
-
Identify Safe Exam Browser installationLocate Safe Exam Browser on the system - check Program Files directories, or search for seb.exe (the SEB executable) using file explorer or command line tools like 'where seb.exe' or 'Get-ChildItem -Recurse seb.exe'Affected if Safe Exam Browser is found on the system
-
Determine installed SEB versionRight-click the SEB executable, select Properties, and check the File Version in the Details tab. Alternatively, launch SEB and look for version information in the application interface or help/about sectionAffected if The installed version is 3.5.0 (or any version within the 3.x range prior to patching, based on vendor release notes)
-
Confirm Windows operating systemRun 'winver' or check System Properties to verify the operating system. This vulnerability specifically affects Windows environmentsAffected if The system is running Windows - the clipboard bypass only affects Windows kiosk mode implementations
-
Inspect SEB kiosk configurationOpen the SEB configuration file (typically seb*.seb or settings in AppData) and look for clipboard-related settings such as 'clipboardAccess', 'allowClipboardAccess', or similar kiosk isolation parametersAffected if Clipboard access between kiosk and host is permitted in the configuration (settings allow clipboard sharing or do not explicitly block it)
-
Test clipboard isolation behaviorWhile SEB is running in kiosk mode, copy text inside the SEB browser and attempt to paste it into a Windows host application (like Notepad), or vice versa. Repeat in the opposite directionAffected if Content successfully transfers in either direction, indicating clipboard isolation is bypassed
If Safe Exam Browser version 3.5.0 is running in kiosk mode on Windows with clipboard access enabled or not explicitly blocked, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.
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.
From vendor dataApply the vendor patch or update to a fixed version of Safe Exam Browser that properly isolates the clipboard within kiosk mode. Until then, consider disabling clipboard access at the system level or implementing additional monitoring.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,168.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-37742 — 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-2024-37742 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
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.
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.
- 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