---
title: Windows Downgrade Attack Risks Exposing Patched Systems to Old Vulnerabilities
description: Microsoft announced the development of security updates to address two loopholes that could be abused to stage downgrade attacks against the Windows update architecture, potentially replacing current versions of Windows files with older versions. Learn more about the vulnerabilities and their associated risks.
---

[Outsource IT Blog](https://blog.oitc.ca)

# [Windows Downgrade Attack Risks Exposing Patched Systems to Old Vulnerabilities](https://blog.oitc.ca/alerts/windows-downgrade-attack-risks-exposing-patched-systems-to-old-vulnerabilities)

 Written by [Nathan Zych](https://blog.oitc.ca/author/nathan-zych) | Aug 16, 2024 5:23:05 PM

Microsoft has announced the development of security updates to address two loopholes that could potentially be used to stage downgrade attacks against the Windows update architecture. These attacks could enable the replacement of current versions of Windows files with older versions, posing significant security risks.

The vulnerabilities identified are:

- CVE-2024-38202 (CVSS score: 7.3) – Windows Update Stack Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
- CVE-2024-21302 (CVSS score: -) – Windows File Replacement Vulnerability

[Read more](https://thehackernews.com/2024/08/windows-downgrade-attack-risks-exposing.html)

<https://www.oitc.ca/contact/>

[Click here to contact Outsource IT](https://www.oitc.ca/contact/)

[View full post](https://blog.oitc.ca/alerts/windows-downgrade-attack-risks-exposing-patched-systems-to-old-vulnerabilities)

```json
{
  "@context" : "http://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Nathan Zych"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2025-07-10T22:04:37.296Z",
  "datePublished" : "2024-08-16T17:23:05Z",
  "headline" : "Windows Downgrade Attack Risks Exposing Patched Systems to Old Vulnerabilities",
  "image" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "height" : 380,
    "url" : "https://341889482.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na3.net/hubfs/341889482/Imported_Blog_Media/windows-update.png",
    "width" : 728
  },
  "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://blog.oitc.ca/alerts/windows-downgrade-attack-risks-exposing-patched-systems-to-old-vulnerabilities",
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "height" : 60,
      "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png",
      "width" : 60
    },
    "name" : "Outsource IT Blog"
  }
}
```