Cyber Resilience

CVE-2024-4577

RCE in Php 8.1.0 – 8.1.29

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCRansomware-linkedRCECommand Injection
Published
09 June 2024
Modified
03 November 2025
KEV Added
12 June 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 9.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.99 100.0th percentile
Risk Priority 97 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2024-4577 is a critical-severity OS Command Injection (CWE-78) vulnerability in Php Php. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Command and Scripting Interpreter (T1059); ranked in the top 0.0% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

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-2024-4577 is a command injection vulnerability in PHP versions 8.1 before 8.1.29, 8.2 before 8.2.20, and 8.3 before 8.3.8 when the PHP-CGI module runs under Apache on Windows. The flaw stems from Windows "Best-Fit" character conversion behavior for certain code pages, which alters characters passed to Win32 API functions; the CGI module then misinterprets the resulting strings as PHP command-line options.

An unauthenticated remote attacker can supply crafted input that is transformed into PHP directives, enabling source-code disclosure, arbitrary PHP code execution, or other actions controlled by the PHP binary. The vulnerability carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.8 and is categorized under CWE-78.

Public advisories from the referenced sources urge immediate upgrade to the patched PHP releases and note that the issue is exploitable over the network without authentication or user interaction.

The associated EPSS score has reached a peak of 0.9675 with a current value of 0.9437, indicating sustained and substantial exploitation interest following disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

In PHP versions 8.1.* before 8.1.29, 8.2.* before 8.2.20, 8.3.* before 8.3.8, when using Apache and PHP-CGI on Windows, if the system is set up to use certain code pages, Windows may use "Best-Fit" behavior to replace characters in command…

more

line given to Win32 API functions. PHP CGI module may misinterpret those characters as PHP options, which may allow a malicious user to pass options to PHP binary being run, and thus reveal the source code of scripts, run arbitrary PHP code on the server, etc.

CWE(s)
KEV Date Added
12 June 2024

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Execution
Adversaries may abuse command and script interpreters to execute commands, scripts, or binaries.
T1059.003 Windows Command Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse the Windows command shell for execution.
T1059.004 Unix Shell Execution
Adversaries may abuse Unix shell commands and scripts for execution.
T1059.001 PowerShell Execution
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution.
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.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2020-16846Same product: Fedoraproject Fedoraboth on KEV
CVE-2024-5585Same product: Fedoraproject Fedora
CVE-2020-4006Same product: Microsoft Windowsboth on KEV
CVE-2024-24576Same product: Fedoraproject Fedora
CVE-2024-8926Same product: Php Php
CVE-2023-39780Shared CWE-78both on KEV
CVE-2021-20035Shared CWE-78both on KEV
CVE-2026-39808Shared CWE-78both on KEV
CVE-2023-49897Shared CWE-78both on KEV
CVE-2024-6047Shared CWE-78both on KEV

Affected Assets

php
php
8.1.0 — 8.1.29 · 8.2.0 — 8.2.20 · 8.3.0 — 8.3.8
fedoraproject
fedora
39, 40

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.2.5
  • V1.2.8
  • V15.2.5

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

Developer testing and evaluation can discover missing or incorrect command sanitization during development.

Input validation directly neutralizes or rejects special characters that would otherwise alter OS command structure.

Least privilege reduces the permissions available to any process that could be subverted by injected commands.

Least functionality restricts available OS commands and interpreters, limiting the blast radius of injection.

Secure engineering principles require proper neutralization of untrusted input before command construction.

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

PR.PS-06's SDLC practices directly require secure coding and input handling that blocks command-injection defects, yet the single broad outcome leaves many specific neutralization vectors and verification gaps unaddressed.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Routine patching/maintenance can remediate known command-injection CVEs in dependencies (partial forward) but does nothing to stop developers from introducing improper neutralization in custom code (none reverse).

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 and code review target insecure use of operating-system command interfaces, catching command-injection flaws introduced during development.

References