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Dropbox DesktopApplication · Dropbox

CVE-2024-5924

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-06-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
Dropbox Desktop Folder Sharing Mark-of-the-Web Bypass Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to bypass the Mark-of-the-Web protection mechanism on affected installations of Dropbox Desktop. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must visit a malicious page or open a malicious file. The specific flaw exists within the handling of shared folders. When syncing files from a shared folder belonging to an untrusted account, the Dropbox desktop application does not apply the Mark-of-the-Web to the local files. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user. Was ZDI-CAN-23991.

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

A vulnerability in Dropbox Desktop allows attackers to bypass Windows Mark-of-the-Web (MoTW) protection when syncing files from shared folders belonging to untrusted accounts. The application fails to apply the Zone.Identifier alternate data stream to these downloaded files, allowing malicious executables to run without security warnings. This enables arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user.

MitigationApply the Mark-of-the-Web (Zone.Identifier) to all files synced from shared folders, especially those from untrusted or external accounts. Users should be cautious about opening files from shared folders and verify the source before execution.

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
Dropbox DesktopApplication
Affected:= 198.4.7615

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. Check if Dropbox Desktop is installed
    Open Windows Settings > Apps > Installed apps, or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like "*Dropbox*"}' in PowerShell to find the installation.
    Affected if Dropbox Desktop is not found on the system.
  2. Verify the installed Dropbox Desktop version
    Run 'Get-ItemProperty "C:\Program Files (x86)\Dropbox\Update\DropboxUpdate.exe" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue' or check the version via Help > About Dropbox in the application.
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 198.4.7615.
  3. Check if shared folders are configured
    Open Dropbox Desktop, click the folder icon, and look under "Shared" to see if any shared folders from other users exist and are synced locally.
    Affected if One or more shared folders from external or untrusted accounts are synced to the local system.
  4. Inspect Zone.Identifier on files from shared folders
    Open PowerShell and run 'Get-Item -Path "C:\Users\<username>\Dropbox\<shared_folder>\*" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Get-ItemProperty -Name Zone.Identifier -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue' on files inside synced shared folders.
    Affected if Files synced from shared folders do NOT have a Zone.Identifier alternate data stream (the property returns empty or does not exist). This means MoTW protection is not applied.

If Dropbox Desktop version 198.4.7615 is installed and files from shared folders are synced without Zone.Identifier streams, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the Mark-of-the-Web (Zone.Identifier) to all files synced from shared folders, especially those from untrusted or external accounts. Users should be cautious about opening files from shared folders and verify the source before execution.

Fix this in Dropbox Desktop Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing10.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
34.0 hours of engineering $5,940
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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-2024-5924 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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