Security Resilience

CVE-2023-38152

Memory Safety in Microsoft Windows Server 2008 r2

Published
12 September 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 5.3
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
EPSS Score 0.24 98th percentile
Risk Priority 58 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-2023-38152 is a medium-severity Buffer Over-read (CWE-126) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Server 2008. Its CVSS base score is 5.3 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Protocol or Service Impersonation (T1001.003); ranked in the top 2% 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

DHCP Server Service Information Disclosure Vulnerability

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

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 OS Credential Dumping Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to dump credentials to obtain account login and credential material, normally in the form of a hash or a clear text password.
T1003.004 LSA Secrets Credential Access
Adversaries with SYSTEM access to a host may attempt to access Local Security Authority (LSA) secrets, which can contain a variety of different credential materials, such as credentials for service accounts.
T1003.006 DCSync Credential Access
Adversaries may attempt to access credentials and other sensitive information by abusing a Windows Domain Controller's application programming interface (API)(Citation: Microsoft DRSR Dec 2017) (Citation: Microsoft GetNCCChanges) (Citati…
T1003.007 Proc Filesystem Credential Access
Adversaries may gather credentials from the proc filesystem or `/proc`.
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.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-36801Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2008
CVE-2024-38071Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2008
CVE-2023-35643Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2012
CVE-2023-35638Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2012
CVE-2023-36392Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2012
CVE-2025-53798Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2008
CVE-2025-26664Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2008
CVE-2025-21203Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2008
CVE-2025-53797Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2008
CVE-2025-53796Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2008

Affected Assets

microsoft
windows server 2008
all versions, r2
microsoft
windows server 2012
all versions, r2
microsoft
windows server 2016
all versions
microsoft
windows server 2019
all versions
microsoft
windows server 2022
all versions

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-668

Controls whether organization resources are exposed to external system spheres by permitting or prohibiting their use.

addresses: CWE-668

The control ensures information is not released into a security sphere where the recipient lacks matching access authorizations.

addresses: CWE-668

The control ensures information resources are not exposed to the incorrect (public) sphere through review and authorization.

addresses: CWE-668

Protects against data mining that would expose resources to unauthorized spheres by enforcing detection and controls.

addresses: CWE-668

Restricts information flows to ensure resources are not exposed to incorrect or unauthorized spheres.

addresses: CWE-668

Controlling internal connections prevents exposure of resources to unintended internal spheres.

addresses: CWE-668

Knowing exact processing and storage locations helps avoid exposure of resources to incorrect spheres.

addresses: CWE-668

The control prevents exposure of the media resource to the wrong security sphere.

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 identification processes can discover buffer over-read flaws via scanning or review.

PR.PS-02 partial match
blocks

Patching or replacing vulnerable software removes known instances of buffer over-read bugs.

PR.PS-06 partial match
blocks

Secure development practices directly prevent introduction of buffer over-read weaknesses.

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.

removes
removes
removes
removes
removes

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-668, a class-level weakness. Rules are authored against its narrower children: CWE-427, CWE-552.

References