CVE Intelligence
High File handling

CVE-2026-102438 — An uncontrolled search path element vulnerability in ASUS Armoury Crate allows local users to...

An uncontrolled search path element vulnerability in ASUS Armoury Crate allows local users to execute arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges via replacement of a dynamic-link library (DLL) that is later loaded by a high-privilege process. Refer to the ' Security Update for Armoury Crate App ' section on the ASUS Security Advisory for more information.

Published Oct 19, 2026 · Updated Oct 21, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP, GitHub Security Advisories · CNA: ASUS

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 0.2% (30-day exploitation probability)+1
  • Technical severity (high)+6

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
0.16%
ahead of 5% of scored CVEs · Oct 30, 2026
Affects
ASUS
Armoury Crate and 1 more
CVSS base
8.5
High · 2 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
None
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Total
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (ASUS Armoury Crate, Asus Armoury Crate SE).
  2. No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
  3. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (file handling), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
ASUS Armoury Crate ≥ V3.0.0. and ≤ V6.5.10 Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Asus Armoury Crate SE ≥ V2.1.17 and ≤ V2.2.17 Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Attack requirements
None
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
X
Confidentiality (vulnerable system)
High
Integrity (vulnerable system)
High
Availability (vulnerable system)
High
Confidentiality (subsequent)
None
Integrity (subsequent)
None
Availability (subsequent)
None

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
8.5 CVSS 4.0 High — — 54bf65a7-a193-42d2-b1ba-8e150d3c35e1 via NIST National Vulnerability Database
8.5 CVSS 4.0 High — — ASUS via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X (score shown at the top: 54bf65a7-a193-42d2-b1ba-8e150d3c35e1)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-427 · Uncontrolled Search Path Element

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 20, 2026 → Oct 30, 2026 · 11 reading(s) · max 0.16%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
  • Monitor file creation in web directories and paths with traversal sequences (../).
endpoint telemetry (EDR)file integrity (FIM)

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 20, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Source status changed · Received → Awaiting Analysis
    Oct 20, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Affected products added · asus/armoury crate, asus/armoury crate se
    Oct 19, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 19, 2026
  • CVSS changed · 8.5
    Oct 19, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Received
    Oct 19, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 19, 2026 · Alertas do Telegram
  • CVE published
    Oct 19, 2026 · ASUS

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 2× References added · Oct 19, 2026 – Oct 21, 2026
  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 19, 2026 – Oct 19, 2026

References

3 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

ASUS
every CVE for this vendor
File handling
same class
CWE-427
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-75811 Improper Restriction of Software Interfaces to Hardware Features in ASUS Armoury Crate… Sep 8, 2026
  • CVE-2026-75808 Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling in ASUS Armoury Crate Sep 8, 2026
  • CVE-2026-18023 Sensitive Information in Resource Not Removed Before Reuse in ASUS Armoury Crate driver… Sep 8, 2026
  • CVE-2026-75810 Exposed Dangerous Method or Function in ASUS Armoury Crate allow a local user to cause a… Sep 8, 2026
  • CVE-2026-75809 Exposed IOCTL with insufficient access control in ASUS Armoury Crate allows a local user… Sep 8, 2026
  • CVE-2026-16006 Exposure of Sensitive System Information to an Unauthorized Control Sphere in Armoury… Sep 8, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-102438 is "An uncontrolled search path element vulnerability in ASUS Armoury Crate allows local users to...", rated High. It affects Armoury Crate (ASUS); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 8.5 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.16% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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