CVE-2024-38373
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedFreeRTOS-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.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceFreeRTOS-Plus-TCP versions 4.0.0-4.1.0 contain a buffer over-read vulnerability in the DNS Response Parser. When parsing DNS responses, the parser trusts the domain name length value from the response without validating it against the actual domain name length, causing reads beyond the DNS response buffer boundary.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data>= 4.0.0, < 4.1.1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify FreeRTOS-Plus-TCP installationLocate the FreeRTOS-Plus-TCP library in your project (typically in a vendor/amazon directory or freertos addons) and locate the version header file or version definitionAffected if FreeRTOS-Plus-TCP is present in your build
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Determine the FreeRTOS-Plus-TCP versionCheck the version.h or version.c file within the FreeRTOS-Plus-TCP directory, or inspect the release tag if using a git submoduleAffected if The installed version is 4.0.0 through 4.1.0 inclusive
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Confirm DNS client is enabledInspect your FreeRTOS-Plus-TCP configuration files (typically FreeRTOSIPConfig.h) for the setting that enables DNS client functionality, such as ipconfigUSE_DNS being defined and set to 1Affected if DNS client functionality is enabled in the TCP/IP stack configuration
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Verify DNS response parsing is in useCheck if your application code calls DNS resolution functions such as FreeRTOS_gethostbyname or uses any feature that triggers DNS queriesAffected if The application performs DNS lookups or resolves hostnames at runtime
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Inspect DNS parser source code for bounds validationExamine the DNS parser implementation file (typically DNSCursor.c or similar) in the FreeRTOS-Plus-TCP source and look for the domain name length validation before buffer accessAffected if The parser code lacks proper validation of the domain name length against the actual response buffer size before reading
You are affected if FreeRTOS-Plus-TCP versions 4.0.0 through 4.1.0 are in use with DNS client functionality enabled and the DNS parser lacks bounds checking validation.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped4.1.1
Update FreeRTOS-Plus-TCP to version 4.1.1 or later to obtain the patched DNS Response Parser. Applications not using DNS functionality are unaffected.
FreeRTOS-Plus-TCP version 4.1.1
- Upgrade FreeRTOS-Plus-TCP from version 4.0.0-4.1.0 to version 4.1.1 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-38373 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-38373 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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