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.
References
| Link | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://github.com/pbatard/rufus/commit/460cc5768aa45be07941b9e4ebc9bee02d282873 | Patch |
| https://github.com/pbatard/rufus/releases/tag/v4.12_BETA | Broken Link |
| https://github.com/pbatard/rufus/security/advisories/GHSA-hcx5-hrhj-xhq9 | Exploit Vendor Advisory |
Configurations
History
27 Feb 2026, 14:36
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| First Time |
Akeo rufus
Akeo |
|
| References | () https://github.com/pbatard/rufus/commit/460cc5768aa45be07941b9e4ebc9bee02d282873 - Patch | |
| References | () https://github.com/pbatard/rufus/releases/tag/v4.12_BETA - Broken Link | |
| References | () https://github.com/pbatard/rufus/security/advisories/GHSA-hcx5-hrhj-xhq9 - Exploit, Vendor Advisory | |
| CPE | cpe:2.3:a:akeo:rufus:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* |
22 Jan 2026, 22:16
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| New CVE |
Information
Published : 2026-01-22 22:16
Updated : 2026-02-27 14:36
NVD link : CVE-2026-23988
Mitre link : CVE-2026-23988
CVE.ORG link : CVE-2026-23988
JSON object : View
Products Affected
akeo
- rufus
CWE
CWE-367
Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition
