Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2023-21695 is a high-severity Heap-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-122) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Server 2008. 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 39% 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.
Microsoft Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol (PEAP) contains a remote code execution vulnerability tracked as CVE-2023-21695. The flaw, assigned CWE-122, affects the PEAP implementation in Microsoft Windows and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 7.5 reflecting network attack vector, high attack complexity, low privileges required, and no user interaction.
An authenticated attacker positioned on the network can exploit the issue to execute arbitrary code with high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The attack requires specific conditions consistent with the high complexity rating but does not need user interaction once network access is obtained.
Microsoft’s security advisory at msrc.microsoft.com details the vulnerability and supplies the corresponding security update that addresses the flaw in affected Windows releases.
EPSS for the CVE rose from low values to a peak of 0.1481 on 2025-01-22 before receding to the current 0.0478, indicating a period of increased exploitation interest after disclosure.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-25862
Vulnerability Data
Microsoft Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol (PEAP) Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
—
—
—
V1.4.1
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.
Secure-development practices directly require bounds checking and safe memory handling that prevent heap overflows.
Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover heap-overflow flaws but does not prevent their introduction in code.
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.
Security testing in development and acceptance can detect heap overflows before release.
Secure development lifecycle mandates practices that reduce the likelihood of introducing heap overflows.
Application security requirements can specify bounds-checking and safe memory APIs that mitigate heap overflows.
Secure architecture and engineering principles include memory-safety and input-validation controls that address heap overflows.
Secure coding standards directly prescribe techniques (safe functions, bounds checks) that prevent heap-based buffer overflows.
Change management ensures controlled deployment of fixes for discovered heap-overflow vulnerabilities.