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CVE-2026-23988

Akeo Rufus vulnerability

7.3 HIGHPublic exploitEPSS 0.21%
  1. Published22 Jan 2026

Description

Rufus is a utility that helps format and create bootable USB flash drives. Versions 4.11 and below contain a race condition (TOCTOU) in src/net.c during the creation, validation, and execution of the Fido PowerShell script. Since Rufus runs with elevated privileges (Administrator) but writes the script to the %TEMP% directory (writeable by standard users) without locking the file, a local attacker can replace the legitimate script with a malicious one between the file write operation and the execution step. This allows arbitrary code execution with Administrator privileges. This issue has been fixed in version 4.12_BETA.

CVSS 3.1 breakdown

Attack vectorLocal
Attack complexityLow
Privileges requiredLow
User interactionRequired
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected products

Akeo Rufus< 4.12

Remediation

Fixed in
Akeo Rufus≥ 4.12

References

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Frequently asked

Is CVE-2026-23988 being actively exploited?

CVE-2026-23988 is not in the CISA KEV catalog. A public exploit reference exists, so treat it as exploitable. Its EPSS exploit probability is 0.21%.

How severe is CVE-2026-23988?

CVE-2026-23988 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.3, rated high. EPSS estimates a 0.21% probability of exploitation.

Which products are affected by CVE-2026-23988?

Affected products include Akeo Rufus.

How do I fix CVE-2026-23988?

Upgrade affected software to a fixed version, for example Akeo Rufus 4.12 or later, then confirm no affected versions remain in your inventory.

How Secuno handles this

Secuno correlates vulnerabilities like CVE-2026-23988 against the real software inventory on every managed device, every day. Rather than a static severity, each match is scored in context: exploit availability, EPSS, the asset's exposure, and business criticality decide where it lands in the queue. If an affected version is present anywhere across your portfolio, it surfaces automatically with a prioritised remediation path.

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Data from the NVD, CISA KEV catalog and FIRST EPSS. CVSS 3.1 base score shown where available.