Security Resilience

CVE-2023-32054

Path Traversal in Microsoft Windows Server 2012 r2

Published
11 July 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.3
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0091 59th percentile
Risk Priority 56 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-2023-32054 is a high-severity Absolute Path Traversal (CWE-36) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Server 2012. Its CVSS base score is 7.3 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Junk Data (T1001.001); ranked in the top 41% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Volume Shadow Copy Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1001.001 Junk Data Command And Control
Adversaries may add junk data to protocols used for command and control to make detection more difficult.
T1001.003 Protocol or Service Impersonation Command And Control
Adversaries may impersonate legitimate protocols or web service traffic to disguise command and control activity and thwart analysis efforts.
T1003.002 Security Account Manager Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to extract credential material from the Security Account Manager (SAM) database either through in-memory techniques or through the Windows Registry where the SAM database is stored.
T1003.008 /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to dump the contents of <code>/etc/passwd</code> and <code>/etc/shadow</code> to enable offline password cracking.
T1007 System Service Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may try to gather information about registered local system services.
T1010 Application Window Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of open application windows.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-69612Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1607
CVE-2024-49082Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2023-35308Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2023-21756Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2023-35387Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2023-32040Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2023-35386Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2023-32039Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2023-36701Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 1507
CVE-2026-68896Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2022

Affected Assets

microsoft
windows 10 1507
≤ 10.0.10240.20048
microsoft
windows 10 1607
≤ 10.0.14393.6085
microsoft
windows 10 1809
≤ 10.0.17763.4645
microsoft
windows 10 21h2
≤ 10.0.19041.3208
microsoft
windows 10 22h2
≤ 10.0.19045.3208
microsoft
windows 11 21h2
≤ 10.0.22000.2176
microsoft
windows 11 22h2
≤ 10.0.22621.1992
microsoft
windows server 2012
all versions, r2
microsoft
windows server 2016
all versions
microsoft
windows server 2019
all versions
+1 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 partial match
blocks

Secure SDLC practices directly require input validation and path sanitization that prevent absolute path traversal.

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 secure SDLC practices (secure requirements, checkpoints, secure coding guidelines, testing including code scans/penetration tests) that reach many path-traversal instances in custom software, but leaves a bounded remainder (e.g. third-party components, misconfigured outsourced development, or incomplete enforcement of guidelines) where the weakness can still be introduced and exploited.

blocks

Application security requirements typically mandate controls against path traversal in file-access functions.

blocks

A.8.27 mandates security-by-design principles (least privilege, default-deny, distrust-external-input, hardening, design review against attack patterns) that reach a minority slice of absolute path traversal (e.g. explicit path canonicalization rules or sandboxing), but most instances arise from ordinary string-concatenation flaws in custom code that the clause's high-level engineering principles do not themselves stop from being written or exploited.

prevents

Secure coding standards directly require neutralization of absolute path sequences in pathname construction.

finds

Security testing in development can detect absolute path traversal via static analysis and fuzzing.

References