Local privilege escalation via registry callback race
Published Sep 12, 2023 · Updated Oct 30, 2025
A TOCTOU race in the Microsoft Windows kernel allows local users with low privileges to elevate privileges through registry operations. The kernel passes user-mode pointers to registry callbacks, which can re-read attacker-modified data after validation and corrupt memory. A local account and concurrent control of the referenced memory are required; successful exploitation grants elevated execution on the host.
Summary
What happened
A TOCTOU race in the Microsoft Windows kernel allows local users with low privileges to elevate privileges through registry operations. The kernel passes user-mode pointers to registry callbacks, which can re-read attacker-modified data after validation and corrupt memory. A local account and concurrent control of the referenced memory are required; successful exploitation grants elevated execution on the host.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2023-38141
- Published
- Sep 12, 2023
- Updated
- Oct 30, 2025
- Vendor
- Microsoft
- Product
- Windows 10 Version 1507
- Classifications
- CWE-367, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 12, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 30, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=10.0.10240.0 <10.0.10240.20162
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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