Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-38044

Microsoft Windows Server 2012 r2

Published
09 July 2024
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.2
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.021 80th percentile
Risk Priority 60 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2024-38044 is a high-severity Numeric Truncation Error (CWE-197) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Server 2012. Its CVSS base score is 7.2 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked in the top 20% 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 SA-15 (Development Process, Standards, and Tools) — 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-2024-38044 is a remote code execution vulnerability in the DHCP Server Service. It carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.2 with the vector string AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H and is associated with CWE-197 and CWE-681. The flaw was publicly disclosed on 9 July 2024.

An attacker with high privileges on an affected DHCP server can exploit the issue over the network to execute arbitrary code, resulting in full compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability on the target system.

Microsoft has published remediation guidance for the vulnerability at the Microsoft Security Response Center advisory page referenced in the CVE record.

EPSS for the CVE rose from lower values after disclosure to a recorded peak of 0.0650 on 11 December 2025 before receding to the current level of 0.0476, indicating a period of increased exploitation interest following publication.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

DHCP Server Service Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation Privilege Escalation
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to elevate privileges.
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.
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services Lateral Movement
Adversaries may exploit remote services to gain unauthorized access to internal systems once inside of a network.
T1212 Exploitation for Credential Access Credential Access
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in an attempt to collect credentials.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-43639Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2012
CVE-2024-30011Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2012
CVE-2024-26202Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2012
CVE-2024-43549Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2012
CVE-2024-38212Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2012
CVE-2024-20655Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2012
CVE-2024-43589Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2012
CVE-2024-20662Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2012
CVE-2024-38074Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2012
CVE-2024-38077Same product: Microsoft Windows Server 2012

Affected Assets

microsoft
windows server 2012
all versions, r2
microsoft
windows server 2016
≤ 10.0.14393.7159
microsoft
windows server 2019
≤ 10.0.17763.6054
microsoft
windows server 2022
≤ 10.0.20348.2582
microsoft
windows server 2022 23h2
≤ 10.0.25398.1009

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and evaluation can discover truncation errors through static analysis, dynamic testing, or code review.

Documented development standards and tools can mandate use of safe arithmetic libraries or explicit checks against truncation.

Engineering principles can require safe type conversions and avoidance of narrowing casts that cause truncation.

Input validation directly stops malformed or out-of-range numeric values from reaching conversion logic.

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

Secure SDLC practices directly prevent truncation errors via reviews, static analysis, and safe type handling.

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 can detect truncation bugs through static analysis and fuzzing.

prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates practices that can catch numeric truncation during design and code review.

degrades

Application security requirements can specify safe numeric handling and data-type constraints.

degrades

Secure architecture principles include choosing appropriate data types and avoiding unsafe casts.

prevents

Secure coding standards directly prohibit unsafe narrowing conversions and truncation.

References