Local privilege escalation via use-after-free
Published Jul 9, 2024 · Updated Feb 10, 2026
Use-after-free in Microsoft Windows Win32k allows local users with low privileges to elevate privileges through local interaction. Win32k uses an object after its memory has been freed, but Microsoft has not disclosed the affected function or object type. No user interaction is required, but exploitation starts from a local low-privilege account and can compromise the affected host's data and operation.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in Microsoft Windows Win32k allows local users with low privileges to elevate privileges through local interaction. Win32k uses an object after its memory has been freed, but Microsoft has not disclosed the affected function or object type. No user interaction is required, but exploitation starts from a local low-privilege account and can compromise the affected host's data and operation.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-38059
- Published
- Jul 9, 2024
- Updated
- Feb 10, 2026
- Vendor
- Microsoft
- Product
- Windows 11 version 21H2
- Classifications
- CWE-416, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 9, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Feb 10, 2026Record 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=10.0.0 <10.0.22000.3079
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.
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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