Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-11003

Command Injection in Needrestart Project Needrestart ≤ 3.8

Published
19 November 2024
Modified
03 November 2025
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.12 96th percentile
Risk Priority 70 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2024-11003 is a high-severity OS Command Injection (CWE-78) vulnerability in Needrestart Project Needrestart. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059); ranked in the top 4% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

needrestart before version 3.8 passes unsanitized data to the Modules::ScanDeps Perl library, which expects trusted input. The flaw is an instance of OS command injection tracked under CWE-78 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 7.8. It is closely related to a separate vulnerability in the library itself, CVE-2024-10224.

A local attacker who can influence the data processed by needrestart is able to execute arbitrary shell commands with the privileges of the process, resulting in full control over confidentiality, integrity, and availability on the affected system.

Public references, including the Qualys advisory and the project commit that addresses the issue, indicate that upgrading to needrestart 3.8 or applying the referenced patch eliminates the unsafe data path to Modules::ScanDeps.

EPSS for the CVE rose from lower values to a peak of 0.2115 before receding to the current 0.0847, indicating a period of increased exploitation interest after disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Qualys discovered that needrestart, before version 3.8, passes unsanitized data to a library (Modules::ScanDeps) which expects safe input. This could allow a local attacker to execute arbitrary shell commands. Please see the related CVE-2024-10224 in Modules::ScanDeps.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
T1059.003 Windows Command Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse the Windows command shell for execution.
T1059.004 Unix Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse Unix shell commands and scripts for execution.
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
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.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-48992Same product: Needrestart Project Needrestart
CVE-2024-48991Same product: Needrestart Project Needrestart
CVE-2024-48990Same product: Needrestart Project Needrestart
CVE-2024-0292Shared CWE-78
CVE-2023-40479Shared CWE-78
CVE-2025-33206Shared CWE-78
CVE-2026-32608Shared CWE-78
CVE-2024-9916Shared CWE-78
CVE-2026-8665Shared CWE-78
CVE-2026-71950Shared CWE-78

Affected Assets

needrestart project
needrestart
≤ 3.8

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)
  • V1.2.5
  • V1.2.8
  • V15.2.5

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and evaluation can discover missing or incorrect command sanitization during development.

Input validation directly neutralizes or rejects special characters that would otherwise alter OS command structure.

Least privilege reduces the permissions available to any process that could be subverted by injected commands.

Least functionality restricts available OS commands and interpreters, limiting the blast radius of injection.

Secure engineering principles require proper neutralization of untrusted input before command construction.

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 mostly match
prevents

PR.PS-06's SDLC practices directly require secure coding and input handling that blocks command-injection defects, yet the single broad outcome leaves many specific neutralization vectors and verification gaps unaddressed.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching/maintenance can remediate known command-injection CVEs in dependencies (partial forward) but does nothing to stop developers from introducing improper neutralization in custom code (none reverse).

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 and code review target insecure use of operating-system command interfaces, catching command-injection flaws introduced during development.

References