CVE-2024-38217: Microsoft Windows Mark of the Web (MOTW) Protection Mechanism Failure Vulnerability

Is it exploited?

Yes. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 10 Sep 2024, the same day the CVE record was published.

How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?

10%

EPSS score, percentile 95.6 of all scored records

How severe?

5.4 Medium

CVSS v3.1 base score, given by the CNA

What should I do?

Required action (CISA), due 1 Oct 2024: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Advisories and patches (1)

Which versions are affected?

Affected: 10.0.10240.0 up to, not including, 10.0.10240.20766; 10.0.14393.0 up to, not including, 10.0.14393.7336; 10.0.17763.0 up to, not including, 10.0.17763.6293; 10.0.19043.0 up to, not including, 10.0.19044.4894; 10.0.19045.0 up to, not including, 10.0.19045.4894; 10.0.0 up to, not including, 10.0.22000.3197; 10.0.22621.0 up to, not including, 10.0.22621.4169; 10.0.22631.0 up to, not including, 10.0.22631.4169; 10.0.22631.0 up to, not including, 10.0.22631.4169; 10.0.26100.0 up to, not including, 10.0.26100.1742; 6.0.6003.0 up to, not including, 6.0.6003.22870; 6.1.7601.0 up to, not including, 6.1.7601.27320; 6.1.7601.0 up to, not including, 6.1.7601.27320; 6.0.6003.0 up to, not including, 6.0.6003.22870; 6.0.6003.0 up to, not including, 6.0.6003.22870; 6.2.9200.0 up to, not including, 6.2.9200.25073; 6.2.9200.0 up to, not including, 6.2.9200.25073; 6.3.9600.0 up to, not including, 6.3.9600.22175; 6.3.9600.0 up to, not including, 6.3.9600.22175; 10.0.14393.0 up to, not including, 10.0.14393.7336

Versions by product

Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.

What to do

CISA due date for this action: 1 October 2024.

Advisories and patches

• Windows Mark of the Web Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability (Vendor advisory, Patch)

Linked from CISA's catalog entry

• https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-38217
• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-38217

Affected products and versions

As listed in the CVE record.

Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.

About this vulnerability

Microsoft Windows Mark of the Web (MOTW) contains a protection mechanism failure vulnerability that allows an attacker to bypass MOTW-based defenses. This can result in a limited loss of integrity and availability of security features such as Protected View in Microsoft Office, which rely on MOTW tagging.

Summary: CISA's KEV catalog, as of 28 Oct 2026.

• CISA added CVE-2024-38217 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 10 Sep 2024.
• CISA's ransomware flag for this entry is "Unknown": no evidence of ransomware use in the catalog, which is not proof of none.
• The due date CISA sets for the required action is 1 Oct 2024.
• The CVE record was published on 10 Sep 2024, the same day it was added to KEV.
• The CVE record carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.4 (Medium), given by its CNA.
• FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 10% (percentile 95.6), as of 28 Oct 2026.
• CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record: exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact partial.

Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.

Description

Windows Mark of the Web Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

Windows Mark of the Web Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.

Weakness

• CWE-693: Protection Mechanism Failure

CWE and CAPEC are maintained by MITRE; the entries are those named in the CVE record and the KEV entry.

Timeline

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