CVE-2024-7679: Telerik UI for WPF RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2024-7679 Overview

CVE-2024-7679 is a command injection vulnerability in Progress Telerik UI for WinForms versions prior to 2024 Q3 (2024.3.924). The flaw stems from improper neutralization of hyperlink elements, allowing attackers to inject commands through crafted hyperlinks rendered by vulnerable components. Exploitation requires local access and user interaction, but successful attacks yield high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-77: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command.

Critical Impact
Attackers who trick a user into activating a malicious hyperlink can execute arbitrary commands in the context of the vulnerable Telerik UI for WinForms application.

Affected Products

Progress Telerik UI for WinForms versions prior to 2024 Q3 (2024.3.924)
Applications built with vulnerable Telerik UI for WinForms controls that render hyperlinks
Desktop deployments distributing Telerik-based clients to end users

Discovery Timeline

2024-09-25 - CVE-2024-7679 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-7679

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in how Telerik UI for WinForms processes hyperlink elements within its controls. The framework fails to sanitize special characters and command constructs embedded in hyperlink targets. When a user activates a crafted hyperlink, the underlying handler passes attacker-controlled data to a command interpreter. This allows arbitrary command execution within the application's process context.

The attack requires local access and user interaction, aligning with a scenario where a target opens a document, form, or view containing an attacker-supplied hyperlink. Because the vulnerable code path executes with the privileges of the host application, exploitation can yield full compromise of the application session and any resources it accesses. See the Telerik Command Injection Advisory for vendor-specific technical details.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper neutralization of special elements in hyperlink strings ([CWE-77]). Telerik UI for WinForms does not validate or escape command-relevant characters before passing hyperlink data to a shell or process launcher. The fix in 2024.3.924 introduces stricter neutralization to prevent command interpreters from acting on attacker-supplied tokens.

Attack Vector

An attacker crafts a hyperlink whose target contains embedded command syntax. The attacker delivers the malicious content through a file, form, or data source consumed by a vulnerable Telerik UI for WinForms application. When the user clicks or otherwise activates the hyperlink, the application processes the target and invokes the injected command. The commands execute with the user's privileges on the local system.

No verified public proof-of-concept is available. Refer to the Telerik Command Injection Advisory for further details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-7679

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected child processes spawned by Telerik-based WinForms applications, such as cmd.exe, powershell.exe, or wscript.exe
Application logs or crash reports containing hyperlink targets with shell metacharacters such as &, |, ;, or backticks
Outbound network connections initiated shortly after users interacted with hyperlinks in a Telerik-based application

Detection Strategies

Inventory installed applications to identify software packaged with Telerik UI for WinForms binaries older than 2024.3.924
Monitor process lineage on endpoints for command interpreters launched by WinForms application processes
Correlate user interaction events (document open, link click) with subsequent process creation to detect exploitation attempts

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable command-line auditing (Windows Event ID 4688 with command line logging) to capture arguments passed to spawned processes
Forward endpoint telemetry to a centralized analytics platform to hunt for anomalous execution chains originating from Telerik-based hosts
Track file and email delivery of documents that feed hyperlink data into vulnerable applications

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-7679

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade Progress Telerik UI for WinForms to version 2024.3.924 or later across all development, build, and production environments
Rebuild and redistribute any downstream applications that statically bundle vulnerable Telerik UI for WinForms assemblies
Restrict opening of untrusted documents or data files in Telerik-based applications until patching is complete

Patch Information

Progress has released a fixed version in Telerik UI for WinForms 2024 Q3 (2024.3.924). The patch addresses the improper neutralization of hyperlink elements. Refer to the Telerik Command Injection Advisory for upgrade instructions and release notes.

Workarounds

Disable or remove hyperlink-rendering features in Telerik UI for WinForms controls where they are not required by the application
Validate and sanitize any hyperlink data supplied from untrusted sources before it reaches Telerik controls
Apply application allowlisting to prevent WinForms application processes from spawning shell interpreters

bash

# Example: audit installed Telerik assemblies on Windows endpoints
Get-ChildItem -Path 'C:\Program Files*','C:\Users' -Recurse -Filter 'Telerik.WinControls*.dll' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
  ForEach-Object {
    [PSCustomObject]@{
      Path    = $_.FullName
      Version = (Get-Item $_.FullName).VersionInfo.FileVersion
    }
  } | Where-Object { $_.Version -and [version]$_.Version -lt [version]'2024.3.924' }