Cyber Resilience

CVE-2018-8476

Memory Safety in Microsoft Windows Server 2008 r2

High EPSSMemory Safety
Published
14 November 2018
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.63 99.1th percentile
Risk Priority 97 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2018-8476 is a critical-severity Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer (CWE-119) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Server 2008. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, ranked in the top 0.9% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that Windows Deployment Services TFTP Server handles objects in memory, aka "Windows Deployment Services TFTP Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability." This affects Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server…

more

2012, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 10 Servers.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

Likely ATT&CK TechniquesAI

Techniques this vulnerability likely enables, inferred from its description, weakness type, and attributed-actor tradecraft. Confidence is per-technique.

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Accessconfidence: HIGH
Remote code execution in a publicly exposed TFTP service directly enables exploitation of a public-facing application.
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Executionconfidence: MEDIUM
Memory corruption in the TFTP server can be leveraged for client-side execution when a victim connects to the malicious service.
inferred from description + CWE · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-28223Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2008
CVE-2020-1350Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2008
CVE-2023-35350Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2008
CVE-2023-35310Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2008
CVE-2023-28268Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2008
CVE-2023-32020Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2008
CVE-2023-35344Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2008
CVE-2023-28306Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2008
CVE-2023-28278Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2008
CVE-2023-28305Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2008

Affected Assets

microsoft
windows server 2008
all versions, r2
microsoft
windows server 2012
all versions, r2
microsoft
windows server 2016
1803, all versions
microsoft
windows server 2019
all versions

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V17.3.2

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-119

Ongoing control assessments and code testing (static/dynamic analysis, fuzzing) surface memory buffer restriction failures, which are then remediated before release.

addresses: CWE-119

Managed runtimes used by platform-independent applications (e.g., JVM, CLR) enforce memory safety, preventing most buffer overflows that require direct memory manipulation.

addresses: CWE-119

Memory protections (e.g., W^X, ASLR) make exploitation of buffer-boundary violations far harder to turn into code execution.

addresses: CWE-119

Detects exploitation attempts that produce memory corruption, crashes, or anomalous behavior.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices (bounds checking, safe APIs, reviews) directly prevent this class of flaw.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and code analysis directly surface buffer-boundary flaws.

ID.RA-08 partial match
prevents

Receiving and triaging vulnerability disclosures commonly includes buffer-related reports.

PR.AT-02 partial match
prevents

Developer training on secure coding reduces introduction of memory-buffer errors.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching replaces vulnerable code containing buffer-boundary defects.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

detects

Security testing in development catches out-of-bounds accesses before release, covering most instances of the weakness.

prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates memory-safety practices that directly prevent buffer-boundary violations.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify memory-safety rules, but do not prescribe implementation details.

prevents

Secure architecture and engineering principles include memory-safe design patterns that mitigate buffer overflows.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe buffer operations, directly eliminating CWE-119.

References