CVE-2024-38474 | Apache HTTP Server weakness with encoded question marks in backreferences

Substitution encoding issue in mod_rewrite in Apache HTTP Server 2.4.59 and earlier allows attacker to execute scripts in directories permitted by the configuration but not directly reachable by any URL or source disclosure of scripts meant to only to be executed as CGI. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 2.4.60, which fixes this issue. Some RewriteRules that capture and substitute unsafely will now fail unless rewrite flag "UnsafeAllow3F" is specified.

Published: 2024-07-01 Last update: 2025-03-25 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2024-38474 is rated High Risk (69.7/100): CVSS Critical severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 2.46%). EPSS rose +1.73% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize 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-2024-38474

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 2026-06-15 0.73% 2.46% +1.73%
2 2026-06-11 0.99% 0.73% -0.27%
3 2026-04-14 — 0.99% —

Full EPSS history (54 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2024-38474

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
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:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 5.9 [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 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2024-38474

OS Trackers for CVE-2024-38474

vendor priority summary link
alpine — CVE-2024-38474: 1 source package rows (apache2); 7 state rows across 7 repos (3.17-main, 3.18-main, 3.19-main, 3.20-main, 3.21-main, 3.22-main, edge-main); fixed 7, open 0. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2024-38474
debian not yet assigned CVE-2024-38474 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (apache2), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2024-38474
gentoo low CVE-2024-38474: 1 GLSA(s) (202409-31), 1 atom(s) (www-servers/apache); latest impact low. https://bugs.gentoo.org/buglist.cgi?quicksearch=CVE-2024-38474
redhat high — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2024-38474
suse high CVE-2024-38474 severity important: SUSE including 324 source package names (2.8:apache2-utils-2.4.58-150600.5.23.1, 4.3.13.9.57.26:apache2-2.4.51-150400.6.34.1, …), 541 product×package rows across 78 product lines (Container bci/php-apache, Container suse/manager/4.3/proxy-httpd, … (78 product lines)): Fixed 309, Known Affected 231, Known Not Affected 1. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2024-38474/
ubuntu medium CVE-2024-38474 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (apache2), 10 status rows across 10 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, trusty, upstream, xenial): released 10. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2024-38474

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2024-38474

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
apache http_server >= 2.4.0, < 2.4.60 cpe:2.3:a:apache:http_server:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
netapp clustered_data_ontap 9.0 cpe:2.3:o:netapp:clustered_data_ontap:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2024-38474

cvelogic Threat Intelligence