.NET, .NET Framework, and Visual Studio Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Security Vulnerability

Released: Apr 9, 2024

Last updated: Apr 18, 2024

Assigning CNA
Microsoft
CVE.org link
CVE-2024-21409
Impact
Remote Code Execution
Max Severity
Important
Weakness
CVSS Source
Microsoft
Vector String
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C

Please see Common Vulnerability Scoring System for more information on the definition of these metrics.

Exploitability

The following table provides an exploitability assessment for this vulnerability at the time of original publication.

Publicly disclosed
No
Exploited
No
Exploitability assessment
Exploitation Less Likely

FAQ

How could an attacker exploit this vulnerability?

To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would first have to log on to the system. An attacker could then run a specially crafted application that could exploit the vulnerability and take control of an affected system.

Additionally, an attacker could convince a local user to open a malicious file. The attacker would have to convince the user to click a link, typically by way of an enticement in an email or instant message, and then convince them to open the specially crafted file.

For .NET 7.0 and .NET 8.0, what operating systems are affected by this vulnerability?

This is a Windows-only vulnerability for .NET 7.0 and .NET 8.0. For more information see Microsoft Security Advisory CVE-2024-21409 | .NET Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability.

According to the CVSS metric, the attack vector is local (AV:L). Why does the CVE title indicate that this is a remote code execution?

The word Remote in the title refers to the location of the attacker. This type of exploit is sometimes referred to as Arbitrary Code Execution (ACE). The attack itself is carried out locally. This means an attacker or victim needs to execute code from the local machine to exploit the vulnerability.

According to the CVSS metric, privileges required is low (PR:L). What does that mean for this remote code execution vulnerability?

An authenticated attacker who successfully exploited a vulnerability in WordPad when closing a maliciously crafted .docx file could trigger execution of malicious code.

Acknowledgements

  • wh1tc & Zhiniang Peng
Microsoft recognizes the efforts of those in the security community who help us protect customers through coordinated vulnerability disclosure. See Acknowledgements for more information.

Security Updates

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Disclaimer

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Revisions

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