CVE-2024-6871
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 · uneditedG DATA Total Security Incorrect Permission Assignment Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows local attackers to escalate privileges on affected installations of G DATA Total Security. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the handling of autostart tasks. The issue results from incorrect permissions set on folders. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of SYSTEM. Was ZDI-CAN-22629.
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 confidenceG DATA Total Security contains an incorrect permission assignment vulnerability in its autostart task handling. Local attackers with low-privileged code execution can exploit incorrectly set folder permissions to escalate to SYSTEM context and execute arbitrary code.
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= 25.5.15.21CVSS 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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Verify G DATA Total Security installation and versionOpen Programs and Features or use command: 'wmic product get name,version' or check registry at HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ for G DATA Total SecurityAffected if The installed version is exactly 25.5.15.21
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Identify G DATA autostart task locationsCheck the Windows Task Scheduler for tasks created by G DATA, and examine common autostart folders: %ProgramData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup and %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartupAffected if G DATA creates autostart tasks or entries in startup folders that are accessible to low-privileged users
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Review permissions on autostart directories used by G DATARight-click on folders where G DATA stores autostart entries, go to Properties > Security tab, and examine the permissions. Use 'icacls' command to list effective permissions for standard usersAffected if Standard users or low-privileged accounts have Write, Modify, or Full Control permissions on autostart folders used by G DATA, rather than just Read/Execute access
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Check for weak ACLs on G DATA program directoriesRun 'icacls "C:\Program Files\G DATA"' and 'icacls "%ProgramData%\G DATA"' to inspect folder ACLs, looking for entries granting Write or Full Control to Users or EveryoneAffected if Non-admin users have overly permissive access (Write, Modify, or Full Control) to directories where G DATA stores executable components or configuration files used during autostart
You are affected if G DATA Total Security version 25.5.15.21 is installed AND low-privileged users have Write or Modify permissions on any autostart task locations or G DATA program directories.
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 vendor-supplied patch from G DATA to correct the folder permissions on autostart task locations; alternatively, manually review and harden permissions on affected autostart directories following least-privilege principles.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-6871 — 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-2024-6871 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
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