{"id":51210,"date":"2025-06-12T13:34:37","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T13:34:37","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-06-18T05:18:45","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T11:18:45","slug":"cve-2024-13959-local-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-in-avg-tuneup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2024-13959-local-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-in-avg-tuneup\/","title":{"rendered":"CVE-2024-13959: Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability in AVG TuneUp<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n

The vulnerability in question, CVE-2024-13959, is a serious cybersecurity issue affecting AVG TuneUp 24.2.16593.9844 on Windows. The flaw allows local attackers to escalate their privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of the SYSTEM through the creation of a symbolic link. By leveraging the service, they can delete a directory, which in turn, could potentially compromise the system or lead to data<\/a> leakage.
\nGiven the popularity and widespread usage of AVG TuneUp by both individual users and organizations, this vulnerability has a broad impact<\/a>. The fact that it allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code under the SYSTEM<\/a> context makes it a significant concern for all AVG TuneUp users.<\/p>\n

Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

CVE ID: CVE-2024-13959
\nSeverity: High (7.8 CVSS Score)
\nAttack Vector: Local
\nPrivileges Required: Low
\nUser Interaction: Required
\nImpact: Potential system<\/a> compromise or data leakage<\/p>\n

Affected Products<\/strong><\/p>\n

Product | Affected Versions<\/p>\n

AVG TuneUp | 24.2.16593.9844<\/p>\n

How the Exploit Works<\/strong><\/p>\n

The exploit takes advantage of a vulnerability in TuneupSvc.exe in AVG<\/a> TuneUp. The attacker begins by creating a symbolic link<\/a> and then leverages the service to delete a directory. By doing this, the attacker can escalate their privileges<\/a> and execute arbitrary code in the context of the SYSTEM. This means that they can manipulate the system as if they had the highest level of access, potentially leading to system<\/a> compromise or data leakage.<\/p>\n

Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p>\n

The following pseudocode provides a conceptual example of how this vulnerability<\/a> might be exploited:<\/p>\n

# Create a symbolic link\nos.symlink(\"\/path\/to\/target\/directory\", \"\/path\/to\/symlink\")\n# Leverage the service to delete a directory\nos.system(\"TuneupSvc.exe \/delete \/path\/to\/symlink\")\n# Execute arbitrary code in the context of SYSTEM\nos.system(\"cmd.exe \/c ArbitraryCode\")<\/code><\/pre>\n
Please note, this is a simplified and hypothetical representation of the exploit. The actual exploit would likely be more complex and requires specific conditions to be met.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Overview The vulnerability in question, CVE-2024-13959, is a serious cybersecurity issue affecting AVG TuneUp 24.2.16593.9844 on Windows. The flaw allows local attackers to escalate their privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of the SYSTEM through the creation of a symbolic link. By leveraging the service, they can delete a directory, which in turn, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"vendor":[82],"product":[],"attack_vector":[76],"asset_type":[],"severity":[],"exploit_status":[],"class_list":["post-51210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","vendor-microsoft","attack_vector-privilege-escalation"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t