CVE-2024-38373 | FreeRTOS-Plus-TCP Buffer Over-Read in DNS Response Parser

FreeRTOS-Plus-TCP is a lightweight TCP/IP stack for FreeRTOS. FreeRTOS-Plus-TCP versions 4.0.0 through 4.1.0 contain a buffer over-read issue in the DNS Response Parser when parsing domain names in a DNS response. A carefully crafted DNS response with domain name length value greater than the actual domain name length, could cause the parser to read beyond the DNS response buffer. This issue affects applications using DNS functionality of the FreeRTOS-Plus-TCP stack. Applications that do not use DNS functionality are not affected, even when the DNS functionality is enabled. This vulnerability has been patched in version 4.1.1.

Published: 2024-06-24 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2024-38373 is rated Moderate Risk (62.8/100): CVSS Critical severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.65%). Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2024-38373

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-11-21 0.68% 0.65% -0.03%
2 2025-11-18 0.56% 0.68% +0.12%
3 2025-09-09 0.56%

Full EPSS history (13 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2024-38373

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.6 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
3.1 5.8 [email protected]
8.1 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.8 5.2 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2024-38373

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2024-38373

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
amazon freertos-plus-tcp >= 4.0.0, < 4.1.1 cpe:2.3:a:amazon:freertos-plus-tcp:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2024-38373

cvelogic Threat Intelligence