Microsoft Windows Kernel Exposed IOCTL with Insufficient Access Control Vulnerability (CVE-2024-21338)
Severity: high · Patch status: patched · Since 2024-03-04 · CVE-2024-21338
Microsoft Windows Kernel contains an exposed IOCTL with insufficient access control vulnerability within the IOCTL (input and output control) dispatcher in appid.sys that allows a local attacker to achieve privilege escalation. CISA added CVE-2024-21338 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on Mar 4, 2024, which means attackers are exploiting it in the wild. CISA reports known use in ransomware campaigns.
What to do
- Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
- US federal agencies must remediate by Mar 25, 2024 (BOD 22-01); treat that as the outer limit.
Sources
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