Security Resilience

CVE-2023-24856

Microsoft Windows Server 2012 r2

Published
14 March 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
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:H/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.015 74th percentile
Risk Priority 69 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2023-24856 is a high-severity Improper Input Validation (CWE-20) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Server 2012. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).

Operationally, ranked in the top 26% 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 PostScript and PCL6 Class Printer Driver is affected by an information disclosure vulnerability tracked as CVE-2023-24856. The flaw carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 and is associated with CWE-20, indicating improper input validation that can expose sensitive data over the network.

Remote attackers without authentication or user interaction can exploit the issue to obtain confidential information from affected systems. The attack vector is rated as network-accessible with low complexity, allowing unauthenticated parties to trigger the disclosure condition directly.

Microsoft has published guidance for the vulnerability in its Security Response Center, including details on available updates that address the driver component. The associated EPSS score has remained flat at 0.1816 with no material increase since disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Microsoft PostScript and PCL6 Class Printer Driver Information Disclosure Vulnerability

CWE(s)

Related Threats

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-21816Same product: Microsoft Windows 10
CVE-2023-36697Same product: Microsoft Windows 10
CVE-2023-24865Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2023-28302Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2023-21554Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2023-21818Same product: Microsoft Windows 10
CVE-2023-23416Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2023-36912Same product: Microsoft Windows 10
CVE-2023-21685Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2023-35336Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607

Affected Assets

microsoft
windows 10
≤ 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 2012
all versions, r2
microsoft
windows server 2016
all versions
+2 more product configuration(s) — see NVD for full list

Mitigating Controls

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.

addresses: CWE-20

Security testing and developer training directly verify and enforce proper input validation, reducing exploitability of injection and malformed-data weaknesses.

addresses: CWE-20

Security testing and evaluation at multiple SDLC stages directly detects missing or flawed input validation, with the required remediation process ensuring fixes are applied.

addresses: CWE-20

Directly implements checks on information inputs to reject invalid data before processing.

addresses: CWE-20

Spam protection mechanisms perform filtering and detection on inbound/outbound messages, directly compensating for missing or weak input validation of unsolicited content.

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.

blocks

A.8.25 mandates security requirements, secure coding guidelines, checkpoints, testing (incl. code scans) and developer training in the SDLC, which reaches a slice of input validation defects but leaves the majority (incomplete enforcement, second-order inputs, parser differentials, post-validation canonicalization) unaddressed as in the SA-3 and A.8.28 anchors.

blocks

Mandating input controls that include integrity checks and input validation ensures that untrusted data is examined before use, blocking the root cause of many injection and malformed-data weaknesses.

blocks

Security-by-design principles explicitly call for data validation and sanitization at every layer, reducing the chance that malformed or malicious input will be processed without scrutiny.

prevents

Requiring language-specific secure coding standards, peer review, SAST and documented mitigation of common programming errors forces validation of all inputs before they are trusted.

finds

Testing against a defined set of requirements and using code review plus vulnerability scanning forces validation of inputs and handling of unanticipated conditions, reducing the chance that malformed data will be accepted.

Hardening callouts derived

DISA STIG baselines are authored against specific weaknesses. Where this CVE cites a broad weakness class, the mapping is not asserted at that abstraction (owner ruling, 2026-09-25: grade only at Base and below), so no rule is shown here rather than a rule shown against the wrong grain.

  • No fine-grained STIG row for CWE-20, a class-level weakness, and none of its children carries one either.

References