CVE-2024-20661
Published: 09 January 2024
Summary
CVE-2024-20661 is a high-severity NULL Pointer Dereference (CWE-476) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 10 1507. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).
Operationally, ranked in the top 8.6% 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-2024-20661. The flaw is present in the MSMQ component of supported Windows versions and carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5, reflecting network attack vector, low attack complexity, and no required privileges or user interaction. The associated CWEs are CWE-476 (NULL pointer dereference) and CWE-400 (resource exhaustion).
An unauthenticated remote attacker can send specially crafted network messages to an MSMQ endpoint, triggering the flaw and causing the service to stop responding. Successful exploitation results in loss of availability for MSMQ-dependent applications while leaving confidentiality and integrity unaffected.
The Microsoft Security Response Center advisory published at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-20661 describes the available security updates and any configuration workarounds that address the issue.
EPSS for the CVE remains flat at a peak and current value of 0.0665, indicating no material increase in observed exploitation interest after disclosure.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2024-18376
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.