Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-21677

Microsoft Windows 10 1809

Published
10 January 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
CVSS Score v3.1 7.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS Score 0.020 79th percentile
Risk Priority 69 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-21677 is a high-severity Untrusted Pointer Dereference (CWE-822) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 10 1809. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 21% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

Windows Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Extension contains a denial-of-service vulnerability tracked as CVE-2023-21677. The flaw affects the IKE component in Windows and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 7.5, reflecting network attack vector, low complexity, and no required privileges or user interaction, with high impact on availability and no impact on confidentiality or integrity. The associated weakness is listed under CWE-822.

An unauthenticated remote attacker can send specially crafted network traffic to a vulnerable Windows system and trigger the IKE Extension to stop responding, resulting in a denial-of-service condition. Because the attack requires no authentication or user interaction and can be launched over the network, any reachable Windows host running the affected IKE implementation is potentially exposed.

Microsoft has published an advisory at the MSRC update guide for CVE-2023-21677 that addresses the issue. The current and peak EPSS scores both stand at 0.1645, indicating moderate but stable exploitation probability without a notable post-disclosure increase.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Windows Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Extension Denial of Service Vulnerability

CWE(s)

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.
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.
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-32040Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2023-29360Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2023-36011Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2024-20682Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2024-20664Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2024-20680Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2024-37969Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2024-20663Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2024-38185Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2024-38187Same 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 server 2012
all versions, r2
microsoft
windows server 2016
all versions
microsoft
windows server 2019
all versions
+1 more product configuration(s) — see NVD for full list

Mitigating Controls

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 directly prevent introduction of untrusted pointer handling during development.

DE.CM-09 partial match
prevents

Runtime monitoring of software and data can detect adverse events resulting from exploitation of the weakness.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability identification processes can discover instances of this weakness via code review or scanning.

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.

finds

Security testing can detect pointer-dereference flaws before release.

prevents

Secure development lifecycle includes pointer-safety practices that reduce untrusted pointer dereference risk.

prevents

Application security requirements can mandate validation of pointers obtained from untrusted sources.

prevents

Secure architecture principles discourage direct use of untrusted values as pointers.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid dereferencing pointers derived from untrusted input.

References