Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-21560

Memory Safety in Microsoft Windows 10 1809

Memory SafetyAccess Control
Published
10 January 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
CVSS Score v3.1 6.6
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.011 64th percentile
Risk Priority 53 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-21560 is a medium-severity Heap-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-122) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 10 1809. Its CVSS base score is 6.6 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 36% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A01:2025 Broken Access Control

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Windows Boot Manager Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

CWE(s)
CWE-122CWE-863

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
attack.mitre.org →
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
attack.mitre.org →
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1548 Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may circumvent mechanisms designed to control privilege elevation to gain higher-level permissions.
attack.mitre.org →
T1548.002 Bypass User Account Control Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may bypass UAC mechanisms to elevate process privileges on system.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-24932Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2023-28249Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2023-24880Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2023-21727Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2023-28275Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2023-21694Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2023-21812Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2023-21690Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2023-23415Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2023-24943Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607

Affected Assets

microsoft
windows 10 1607
all versions
microsoft
windows 10 1809
all versions
microsoft
windows 10 20h2
all versions
microsoft
windows 10 21h2
all versions
microsoft
windows 10 22h2
all versions
microsoft
windows 11 21h2
all versions
microsoft
windows 11 22h2
all versions
microsoft
windows 7
all versions
microsoft
windows 8.1
all versions
microsoft
windows rt 8.1
all versions
+5 more product configuration(s) — see NVD for full list

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 5 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.4.1

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.

AC-1 Policy and Procedures
addresses: CWE-863

Periodic review and update of procedures reduces incorrect authorization implementations over time.

AC-13 Supervision and Review — Access Control
addresses: CWE-863

Supervision identifies cases where authorization logic incorrectly permits unauthorized actions.

AC-16 Security and Privacy Attributes
addresses: CWE-863

Defining permitted attribute values and auditing modifications reduces the chance of incorrect authorization outcomes due to tampered or missing labels.

AC-17 Remote Access
addresses: CWE-863

The authorization process and usage restrictions help prevent incorrect authorization for remote access types.

AC-18 Wireless Access
addresses: CWE-863

Establishing configuration and connection requirements helps ensure correct rather than incorrect authorization for wireless access.

AC-19 Access Control for Mobile Devices
addresses: CWE-863

Establishing connection authorization processes for mobile devices helps ensure authorization decisions are correctly implemented rather than incorrect.

AC-2 Account Management
addresses: CWE-863

Monitoring account use, notifying on changes, and reviewing accounts for compliance corrects incorrect authorization assignments.

AC-20 Use of External Systems
addresses: CWE-863

Ensures authorization decisions for external system use are correctly implemented and enforced.

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 full match
prevents

Secure-development practices directly require bounds checking and safe memory handling that prevent heap overflows.

PR.AA-05 mostly match
prevents

Defining, enforcing, and reviewing access authorizations and least privilege directly prevents incorrect authorization checks.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover heap-overflow flaws but does not prevent their introduction in code.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Timely patching removes known heap-overflow instances after they exist.

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.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
finds

Security testing in development and acceptance can detect heap overflows before release.

A.5.15 Access control partial match
prevents

Requiring consistency between access rights and classification plus formal approval steps ensures that the authorization logic correctly distinguishes between entities that should and should not be granted access.

A.5.18 Access rights partial match
prevents

Enforcing policy-driven approval and role-change reviews stops incorrect or stale authorization decisions from remaining in effect after job changes or terminations.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates practices that reduce the likelihood of introducing heap overflows.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements can specify bounds-checking and safe memory APIs that mitigate heap overflows.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
prevents

Secure architecture and engineering principles include memory-safety and input-validation controls that address heap overflows.

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (2 rules)
  • V-248581 OL 8 must require users to provide a password for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-863
  • V-252656 The OL 8 operating system must not be configured to bypass password requirements for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-863
RHEL 7 (1 rule)
  • V-204430 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must be configured so that users must re-authenticate for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-863
RHEL 8 (1 rule)
  • V-251712 The RHEL 8 operating system must not be configured to bypass password requirements for privilege escalation. prevents CWE-863

References