Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-21708

Memory Safety in Microsoft Windows Server 2008 r2

Memory Safety
Published
14 March 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.015 72th percentile
Risk Priority 82 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-21708 is a critical-severity Wrap or Wraparound (CWE-191) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Server 2008. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 28% 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.

CVE-2023-21708 is a remote code execution vulnerability in the Remote Procedure Call Runtime, assigned a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 reflecting network attack vector, low attack complexity, and no requirements for privileges or user interaction. The weakness is tracked under CWE-191 and was published on 14 March 2023.

An unauthenticated remote attacker can send specially crafted RPC messages to trigger the flaw, resulting in arbitrary code execution with full impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system.

Microsoft security advisories at the referenced update guide URL describe available patches and mitigation guidance for the vulnerability.

The associated EPSS score has remained flat at a peak of 0.1393 with no material increase after disclosure.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Remote Procedure Call Runtime 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-2023-28272Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2023-21684Same 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
≤ 10.0.10240.19805
microsoft
windows 10 1607
≤ 10.0.14393.5786
microsoft
windows 10 1809
≤ 10.0.17763.4131
microsoft
windows 10 20h2
≤ 10.0.19042.2728
microsoft
windows 10 21h2
≤ 10.0.19044.2728
microsoft
windows 10 22h2
≤ 10.0.19045.2728
microsoft
windows 11 21h2
≤ 10.0.22000.1696
microsoft
windows 11 22h2
≤ 10.0.22000.1413
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