Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-21684

Memory Safety in Microsoft Windows 10 1809 ≤ 10.0.17763.4010

Memory Safety
Published
14 February 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.013 68th percentile
Risk Priority 75 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-21684 is a high-severity Wrap or Wraparound (CWE-191) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 10 1809. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 32% 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.

The vulnerability CVE-2023-21684 is a remote code execution issue in the Microsoft PostScript and PCL6 Class Printer Driver. It is rated 8.8 under CVSS 3.1 with the vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H and is linked to CWE-191.

An attacker with low privileges can exploit the flaw over a network connection without requiring user interaction, resulting in full impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability on the target system.

Microsoft has published advisory and patch information for the vulnerability at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2023-21684. The EPSS score has remained flat at a peak of 0.1506 with no material rise observed after disclosure.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Microsoft PostScript and PCL6 Class Printer Driver Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CWE(s)
CWE-191NVD-CWE-noinfo

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 →
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-28250Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2023-21708Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2023-28272Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2023-24887Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2023-32014Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2023-28293Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2023-24864Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2023-35387Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2023-24911Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2024-26208Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507

Affected Assets

microsoft
windows 10 1507
≤ 10.0.10240.19747 · ≤ 10.0.10240.19747
microsoft
windows 10 1607
≤ 10.0.14393.5717 · ≤ 10.0.14393.5717
microsoft
windows 10 1809
≤ 10.0.17763.4010 · ≤ 10.0.17763.4010 · ≤ 10.0.17763.4010
microsoft
windows 10 20h2
≤ 10.0.19042.2604 · ≤ 10.0.19042.2604 · ≤ 10.0.19042.2604
microsoft
windows 10 21h2
≤ 10.0.19044.2604 · ≤ 10.0.19044.2604 · ≤ 10.0.19044.2604
microsoft
windows 10 22h2
≤ 10.0.19045.2604 · ≤ 10.0.19045.2604 · ≤ 10.0.19045.2604
microsoft
windows 11 21h2
≤ 10.0.22000.1574 · ≤ 10.0.22000.1574
microsoft
windows 11 22h2
≤ 10.0.22621.1265 · ≤ 10.0.22621.1265
microsoft
windows server 2008
all versions, r2
microsoft
windows server 2012
all versions, r2
+3 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 full match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly prevent integer underflow defects via input validation, bounds checking, and static analysis.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and code analysis can surface underflow flaws after they are introduced.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching can remediate known underflow bugs once they are discovered in deployed software.

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 catches integer underflow defects before release.

A.8.25 Secure development life cycle partial match
prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates input validation and arithmetic checks that prevent integer underflow.

A.8.26 Application security requirements partial match
prevents

Application security requirements include bounds checking and safe arithmetic to avoid underflow conditions.

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

Secure architecture principles require defensive coding patterns that mitigate integer wraparound risks.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding standards directly prescribe safe integer handling and overflow/underflow prevention.

References