CVE-2026-23988 Rufus has Local Privilege Escalation via TOCTOU Race Condition in Fido Script Handling
A local attacker can exploit a race condition in Rufus to replace a temporary script and execute arbitrary code with Administrator privileges.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-23988?
CVE-2026-23988 is a high-severity vulnerability in pbatard rufus, published on 22 Jan 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official 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.
Weakness: CWE-367
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23988?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Akeo Rufus.
How do I fix CVE-2026-23988?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-23988 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Is CVE-2026-23988 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-23988 exists.
Other vulnerabilities in pbatard rufus
Sources
Also known as GHSA-hcx5-hrhj-xhq9.