CVE-2024-29988

Deeper analysis

CVE-2024-29988 is a SmartScreen Prompt Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability affecting Microsoft Windows components responsible for displaying security warnings on potentially malicious downloads or web content. The flaw carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 8.8 and is associated with CWE-693, indicating an improper protection mechanism that can be circumvented under network-based attack conditions requiring only user interaction.

An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit the issue by serving specially crafted content that causes the SmartScreen prompt to be bypassed. Successful exploitation grants the attacker confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts equivalent to arbitrary code execution or full compromise of the affected system.

Microsoft’s update guide provides patches addressing the bypass, while CISA has added the CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, confirming active exploitation in the wild. The associated EPSS score has reached a peak of 0.6684 with a current value of 0.6277, reflecting sustained exploitation interest following disclosure.