Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-45288

Memory Safety

Published
05 September 2024
Modified
15 April 2026
CVSS Score v3.1 8.4
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0030 23th percentile
Risk Priority 61 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2024-45288 is a high-severity Improper Null Termination (CWE-170) vulnerability in Freebsd (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 8.4 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 23th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); 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.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A missing null-termination character in the last element of an nvlist array string can lead to writing outside the allocated buffer.

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.
T1211 Exploitation for Stealth Stealth
Adversaries may exploit vulnerabilities to evade detection by hiding activity, suppressing logging, or operating within trusted or unmonitored components.
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-2026-5067Shared CWE-170, CWE-787
CVE-2026-27692Shared CWE-170, CWE-787
CVE-2020-0986Shared CWE-787
CVE-2023-44807Shared CWE-787
CVE-2023-33635Shared CWE-787
CVE-2021-30761Shared CWE-787
CVE-2025-47725Shared CWE-787
CVE-2023-23456Shared CWE-787
CVE-2024-20067Shared CWE-787
CVE-2024-11793Shared CWE-787

Affected Assets

Freebsd
inferred from references and description; NVD did not file a CPE for this CVE

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and evaluation can discover missing or incorrect string termination during code review or dynamic analysis.

Requiring documented development standards and tools can enforce safe string-handling practices that produce correct null termination.

Input validation can structurally reject or sanitize data that would otherwise trigger an out-of-bounds write.

Memory-protection mechanisms limit the exploitability and blast radius of a successful out-of-bounds write.

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 enforce correct string/array termination via coding standards, reviews, and static analysis.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover out-of-bounds write flaws so they can be remediated.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching or replacing vulnerable software directly eliminates known instances of this coding weakness.

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 in development can detect missing or incorrect null terminators before release.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates input validation and string handling rules that prevent missing null terminators.

prevents

Application security requirements can explicitly call for proper string termination and buffer handling.

degrades

Secure architecture principles include defensive coding practices that address buffer and string termination issues.

prevents

Secure coding standards directly require correct null termination of strings and arrays.

prevents

Change management can enforce review gates that catch unsafe memory operations before deployment.

References