CVE-2024-38107: Microsoft Windows Power Dependency Coordinator Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

CVE-2024-38107 is a privilege escalation vulnerability in the Microsoft Windows Power Dependency Coordinator. It allows a local attacker who already has some access on a system to elevate privileges and obtain SYSTEM-level rights. This matters because SYSTEM access gives an attacker full control over the host, enabling further lateral movement, persistence, or data access once an initial foothold exists. Public detail on exact affected builds is limited, so teams must confirm against the vendor advisory.

The issue is tracked as CWE-416 (use-after-free). CISA notes that the Power Dependency Coordinator component contains an unspecified flaw that can be abused for local privilege escalation to SYSTEM. Known ransomware use is not documented.

How it works

Use-after-free flaws occur when software continues to reference memory after it has been freed. An attacker who can influence the timing or content of that memory can sometimes corrupt control structures or inject malicious data that the component later trusts. In this case the vulnerable component is the Windows Power Dependency Coordinator. A local attacker with the ability to run code or interact with the coordinator can trigger the condition and elevate to SYSTEM privileges. Exact exploit mechanics are not publicly detailed beyond the CWE class and the CISA summary; defenders should treat any local code execution path as a potential trigger and confirm technical specifics only against Microsoft’s advisory.

• Attacker starts with limited local privileges on a Windows host.
• The attacker interacts with the Power Dependency Coordinator in a way that frees and then re-uses memory improperly.
• Successful abuse yields SYSTEM rights, bypassing normal user or administrator boundaries.

Am I affected? How to find it in your systems

The vulnerability affects Microsoft Windows systems that include the Power Dependency Coordinator component. This component is part of the core Windows power-management stack and is present on most modern Windows client and server installations. Inventory every Windows endpoint and server in your environment—workstations, laptops, domain controllers, member servers, and virtual machines—using your existing asset-management or endpoint-detection tools.

• Query installed Windows builds and cumulative updates; compare them against the fixed versions listed in the Microsoft security advisory for CVE-2024-38107.
• Confirm the presence of the Power Dependency Coordinator service or related binaries (exact names and paths should be taken from the vendor advisory).
• Review local security logs and EDR telemetry for unusual process creations, token manipulations, or privilege-elevation events that reference power-management or coordinator components. Because the vulnerability is local, look for signs of prior foothold activity rather than remote exploitation indicators.
• If you run Windows in containers, VDI, or cloud images, treat those images as potentially affected until the base OS is confirmed patched.

Specific version ranges and configuration flags are not provided here; always validate against the official Microsoft advisory before declaring a system safe.

How to remediate

The primary remediation is to apply the security update that Microsoft released for this vulnerability. Follow the vendor instructions exactly: download the appropriate cumulative update or standalone package for each Windows edition and architecture, test in a representative environment, then deploy via your standard patch-management process (WSUS, SCCM, Intune, or equivalent).

• Prioritize systems that allow local user logons or that host high-value data.
• After patching, reboot if required by the update and verify the new build number matches the fixed version listed by Microsoft.
• As a hardening step for this class of local privilege-escalation issues, enforce least-privilege principles: remove unnecessary local administrator rights, enable User Account Control in its strictest practical mode, and restrict interactive logons on servers.
• Keep endpoint detection and response agents current so they can detect post-exploitation behaviors even if a future similar flaw appears.

CISA’s required action is to apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. In practice that means patching Windows or isolating unpatchable systems.

If you can't patch immediately

When immediate patching is blocked by change freezes or compatibility concerns, apply compensating controls that reduce the likelihood of successful local elevation.

• Segment high-risk hosts so that local users cannot easily reach them; place administrative workstations and servers on separate network segments with strict access controls.
• Use application-control or Windows Defender Application Control policies to limit which binaries can interact with power-management components.
• Enable enhanced auditing of privilege-use and process-creation events; forward those logs to a SIEM and alert on anomalous elevation attempts.
• If a host-based firewall or virtual-patching capability is available, apply rules that restrict unnecessary local IPC channels used by the Power Dependency Coordinator (exact ports or named pipes must be confirmed from the advisory).
• Temporarily disable non-essential power-management features only if the vendor advisory lists them as optional and if business impact is acceptable.
• Increase monitoring for known post-exploitation tools and techniques that commonly follow local privilege escalation.

These measures lower risk but do not eliminate it; schedule the official update as soon as operationally feasible.

If your data may have been exposed

Actively exploited local privilege-escalation vulnerabilities frequently become stepping stones to broader compromise and data exposure. If you discover evidence that CVE-2024-38107 was abused on any host, treat that system as potentially breached: isolate it, collect forensic artifacts, and begin incident-response procedures. Even without confirmed exploitation, organizations should assume that any unpatched Windows host that allowed local access may have been targeted. You can run a free exposure scan of your email addresses to check whether credentials or personal data already appear in known breach collections; this helps prioritize password resets and further investigation.