Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-29324

Path Traversal in Microsoft Windows Server 2008 r2

Published
09 May 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 6.5
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:L/A:L
EPSS Score 0.029 86th percentile
Risk Priority 61 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-29324 is a medium-severity External Control of File Name or Path (CWE-73) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Server 2008. Its CVSS base score is 6.5 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data from Local System (T1005); ranked in the top 14% 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-2023-29324 is a security feature bypass vulnerability in the Windows MSHTML Platform. It carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.5 and is associated with CWE-73. The flaw resides in the platform component responsible for rendering and handling HTML content within Windows.

An unauthenticated attacker can exploit the issue over the network with low complexity and without user interaction. Successful exploitation permits partial bypass of security protections, resulting in limited integrity and availability impacts while leaving confidentiality unaffected.

Microsoft has published remediation guidance for the vulnerability through its Security Response Center at the listed MSRC advisory URL. The associated EPSS score rose from a low baseline to a peak of 0.1162 on 2025-01-22 before receding to the current value of 0.0187, indicating a period of increased exploitation interest after disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Windows MSHTML Platform Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1005 Data from Local System Collection
Adversaries may search local system sources, such as file systems, configuration files, local databases, virtual machine files, or process memory, to find files of interest and sensitive data prior to Exfiltration.
T1083 File and Directory Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may enumerate files and directories or may search in specific locations of a host or network share for certain information within a file system.
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.
T1574.007 Path Interception by PATH Environment Variable Stealth
Adversaries may execute their own malicious payloads by hijacking environment variables used to load libraries.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-35384Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2024-20652Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2023-35308Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2025-24996Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2025-21377Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2025-33053Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2024-43451Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2025-24054Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2025-59185Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2025-59244Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507

Affected Assets

microsoft
windows 10 1507
≤ 10.0.10240.19926
microsoft
windows 10 1607
≤ 10.0.14393.5921
microsoft
windows 10 1809
≤ 10.0.17763.4377
microsoft
windows 10 20h2
≤ 10.0.19042.2965
microsoft
windows 10 21h2
≤ 10.0.19044.2965
microsoft
windows 10 22h2
≤ 10.0.19045.2965
microsoft
windows 11 21h2
≤ 10.0.22000.1936
microsoft
windows 11 22h2
≤ 10.0.22000.1702
microsoft
windows server 2008
all versions, r2
microsoft
windows server 2012
all versions, r2
+2 more product configuration(s) — see NVD for full list

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.3.2

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-73

Rejects externally supplied file or resource identifiers that fail validity checks.

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 include input validation and path sanitization that eliminate this weakness.

PR.AA-05 mostly match
prevents

Least-privilege file authorization directly limits damage from externally controlled paths.

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 path-traversal issues but does not itself implement preventive controls.

prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates input validation and path-handling controls that directly prevent external file/path manipulation.

prevents

Application security requirements explicitly call for controls against untrusted input influencing file operations.

prevents

Secure architecture principles discourage unsafe path construction but do not prescribe concrete file-name controls.

prevents

Secure coding standards require canonicalization, allow-listing, and bounds checks on file paths, directly eliminating CWE-73.

mitigates

Information access restriction limits which files can be reached, indirectly reducing impact of path manipulation.

References