Security Resilience

CVE-2023-38148

Memory Safety in Microsoft Windows 10 21H2 ≤ 10.0.19044.3448

Memory Safety
Published
12 September 2023
Modified
08 April 2025
Patch / advisory
View advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.077 95th percentile
Risk Priority 72 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-2023-38148 is a high-severity Stack-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-121) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 10 21H2. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow (T1003.008); ranked in the top 5% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CWE(s)
CWE-121NVD-CWE-noinfo

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

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.
attack.mitre.org →
T1007 System Service Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may try to gather information about registered local system services.
attack.mitre.org →
T1012 Query Registry Discovery
Adversaries may interact with the Windows Registry to gather information about the system, configuration, and installed software.
attack.mitre.org →
T1016.002 Wi-Fi Discovery Discovery
Adversaries may search for information about Wi-Fi networks, such as network names and passwords, on compromised systems.
attack.mitre.org →
T1020 Automated Exfiltration Exfiltration
Adversaries may exfiltrate data, such as sensitive documents, through the use of automated processing after being gathered during Collection.
attack.mitre.org →
T1020.001 Traffic Duplication Exfiltration
Adversaries may leverage traffic mirroring in order to automate data exfiltration over compromised infrastructure.
attack.mitre.org →
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-35355Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 21H2
CVE-2024-38246Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 21H2
CVE-2024-43630Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 21H2
CVE-2023-36729Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 21H2
CVE-2024-26180Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 21H2
CVE-2024-37970Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 21H2
CVE-2024-37971Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 21H2
CVE-2024-37984Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 21H2
CVE-2024-37972Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 21H2
CVE-2024-28898Same product: Microsoft Windows 10 21H2

Affected Assets

microsoft
windows 10 21h2
≤ 10.0.19044.3448
microsoft
windows 10 22h2
≤ 10.0.19045.3448
microsoft
windows 11 21h2
≤ 10.0.22000.2416
microsoft
windows server 2022
≤ 10.0.20348.1960

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 2 hardening rules · 2 OS baselines
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

—

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.

ID.RA-01 partial match
blocks

Vulnerability scanning can discover stack buffer overflows but does not prevent their introduction.

PR.PS-02 partial match
blocks

Patching eliminates known instances of the weakness after discovery.

PR.PS-06 partial match
blocks

Secure-development practices directly prevent introduction of stack buffer overflows.

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.5.14 Information transfer partial match
removes
A.5.15 Access control partial match
removes
A.5.16 Identity management partial match
removes
A.5.17 Authentication information partial match
removes
A.5.18 Access rights partial match
removes
A.8.10 Information deletion partial match
removes

Hardening callouts derived

Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (higher-evidence rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).

Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
  • V-248594 OL 8 must implement address space layout randomization (ASLR) to protect its memory from unauthorized code execution. blocks CWE-121
Oracle Linux 9 (1 rule)
  • V-271452 OL 9 must use a Linux Security Module configured to enforce limits on system services. blocks CWE-121

References