CVE-2024-43545
Published: 08 October 2024
Summary
CVE-2024-43545 is a high-severity Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (CWE-400) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Server 2008. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).
Operationally, ranked in the top 6.8% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
Deeper analysis
Windows Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) Server contains a denial-of-service vulnerability tracked as CVE-2024-43545. The flaw is rooted in uncontrolled resource consumption (CWE-400) and affects the OCSP responder component in supported Windows Server releases. A CVSS 7.5 score reflects network attackability with low complexity and no required credentials or user interaction, resulting in high impact to availability.
An unauthenticated remote attacker can send crafted OCSP requests that exhaust server resources, rendering the OCSP responder unavailable and thereby disrupting certificate validation workflows that depend on it. Successful exploitation produces a denial-of-service condition without granting the attacker code execution or access to other data.
Microsoft’s security advisory at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-43545 supplies patch details and mitigation guidance for affected Windows versions. The associated EPSS score has remained flat at 0.0995 with no material increase since disclosure.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2024-40302
Vulnerability details
Windows Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) Server 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.