CVE-2024-49075 in Windows
Summary
by MITRE • 12/12/2024
Windows Remote Desktop Services Denial of Service Vulnerability
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/08/2025
This vulnerability resides within Windows Remote Desktop Services and represents a critical denial of service condition that can be exploited by remote attackers to disrupt legitimate RDP connections. The flaw manifests when the RDP service fails to properly handle malformed or specially crafted network packets during the authentication process, leading to service instability and potential system crashes. The vulnerability affects multiple Windows versions including server and desktop editions, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where RDP is extensively used for remote administration and access. According to CWE-400, this represents a weakness in resource management where the system fails to properly handle exceptional conditions during network protocol processing, specifically in the context of remote desktop protocol implementations.
The technical exploitation occurs when an unauthenticated attacker sends malformed RDP packets to the target system's RDP listener port 3389, causing the service to enter an unstable state where it either crashes entirely or becomes unresponsive to legitimate connection attempts. This behavior stems from insufficient input validation within the RDP authentication handler, where the service does not adequately sanitize incoming packets before processing them. The vulnerability can be triggered through various attack vectors including direct network connections, port scanning followed by RDP packet injection, or even through compromised systems that attempt to establish malicious RDP sessions. The flaw demonstrates characteristics of CWE-248, indicating an exception handling weakness where the system fails to properly manage unexpected conditions during protocol processing, leading to service degradation or complete failure.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability can cause significant business disruption in organizations that rely heavily on remote desktop access for system administration, employee connectivity, and remote work capabilities. The denial of service condition can persist for extended periods, potentially requiring system restarts to restore normal RDP functionality, which directly impacts productivity and incident response capabilities. Security operations teams may experience increased alert fatigue as legitimate RDP users encounter connection failures, while attackers can leverage this vulnerability for persistent disruption campaigns or as part of larger attack chains. The vulnerability aligns with several ATT&CK techniques including T1133 for external remote services and T1499 for network denial of service, making it particularly concerning for organizations that have not implemented proper network segmentation or access controls around RDP endpoints.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including network-level access controls to restrict RDP access to trusted IP addresses, deployment of firewall rules to limit port 3389 exposure, and consideration of alternative remote access solutions such as VPN gateways or jump servers. The implementation of network monitoring and anomaly detection systems can help identify potential exploitation attempts by monitoring for unusual RDP packet patterns or connection spikes. Additionally, organizations should ensure that all Windows systems are patched promptly following Microsoft's security advisories, as the vulnerability is addressed through regular security updates. Network administrators should also consider implementing RDP-specific security controls including connection limits, authentication timeouts, and multi-factor authentication to reduce the attack surface. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and exception handling in network services, aligning with security best practices outlined in NIST SP 800-53 and ISO 27001 frameworks for system security controls and risk management.