CVE-2023-36431
Published: 10 October 2023
Summary
CVE-2023-36431 is a high-severity Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (CWE-400) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Server 2008. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).
Operationally, ranked in the top 8.5% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
Deeper analysis
Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ) contains a denial-of-service vulnerability tracked as CVE-2023-36431. The flaw is present in the MSMQ component on supported Windows systems and is characterized by CWE-400, indicating uncontrolled resource consumption. It received a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 reflecting a network-accessible attack that can terminate availability without requiring authentication or user interaction.
An unauthenticated remote attacker can send specially crafted network messages to an MSMQ endpoint, triggering excessive resource use that renders the service unavailable. Because the attack requires no privileges and can be launched over the network with low complexity, any reachable MSMQ instance is potentially exposed to disruption of message queuing operations.
Microsoft has published remediation guidance and security updates for the issue through its Security Response Center at the listed advisory URLs. Organizations are advised to apply the patches referenced in those documents to eliminate the affected code paths.
The associated EPSS score has remained flat at 0.0683 with no material increase since disclosure.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-40396
Vulnerability details
Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ) Denial of Service Vulnerability
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.
Affected Assets
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.
Limiting concurrent sessions directly prevents uncontrolled resource consumption by capping the number of active sessions per user or account.
Analysis identifies uncontrolled resource consumption indicative of denial-of-service or abuse attempts.
Contingency plan testing includes resource exhaustion scenarios to verify recovery, making it harder for attackers to sustain exploits that cause uncontrolled consumption.
Updated contingency plans include current procedures to detect, contain, and recover from resource exhaustion, limiting an attacker's ability to sustain impact from uncontrolled consumption.
Alternate site allows resumption of operations if resource exhaustion at the primary site is exploited to cause unavailability.
Alternate telecommunications services enable resumption of essential functions when primary services become unavailable due to uncontrolled resource consumption.
The team can analyze and respond to resource exhaustion incidents, reducing the impact of attacks that exploit uncontrolled consumption weaknesses.
Timely maintenance support and spare parts enable rapid recovery from failures induced by uncontrolled resource consumption, shortening the impact window of denial-of-service attacks.