Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2024-33278 is a critical-severity Classic Buffer Overflow (CWE-120) vulnerability in Asus (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 45% 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.
CVE-2024-33278 is a buffer overflow vulnerability affecting the ASUS RT-AX88U router on firmware version v3.0.0.4.388_24198. The flaw resides in the connection_state_machine component and stems from improper length validation of the cookie field, corresponding to CWE-120 and carrying a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.8.
A remote attacker can exploit the issue without authentication or user interaction to execute arbitrary code on the device by sending a crafted request that triggers the overflow.
ASUS has published a product security advisory that addresses the vulnerability, with details available on the vendor's official security page.
The associated EPSS score rose from a low baseline after the June 2024 disclosure to a peak of 0.0809 on 2025-12-11 before receding to the current value of 0.0436, indicating that exploitation interest emerged after public release.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2024-31023
Vulnerability Data
Buffer Overflow vulnerability in ASUS router RT-AX88U with firmware versions v3.0.0.4.388_24198 allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code via the connection_state_machine due to improper length validation for the cookie field.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V5.2.1
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and analysis can find missing size checks before deployment.
Input validation directly enforces size checks before buffer copies.
Engineering principles require bounds checking and safe buffer handling in design.
Memory protection limits the impact of an overflow once it occurs.
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.
Secure development practices directly enforce bounds checking and input validation that prevent classic buffer overflows.
Vulnerability identification processes such as code review or scanning detect classic buffer overflows before exploitation.
Routine patching replaces vulnerable code containing unchecked buffer copies with corrected versions.
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.
Secure coding directly requires bounds-checked memory operations, addressing the root cause of CWE-120.
Security testing in development and acceptance can detect buffer overflows through fuzzing and static analysis, though it does not prevent them at the source.
Secure development life cycle mandates processes that can include input validation and bounds checking to prevent buffer overflows.
Application security requirements can specify input-size validation and safe buffer handling to mitigate classic buffer overflows.
Secure system architecture and engineering principles promote defensive coding patterns that reduce the likelihood of unchecked buffer copies.