dbcve.org
Information ExposureWeakness · CWE-200

CVE-2024-42049

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-07-28
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
TightVNC (Server for Windows) before 2.8.84 allows attackers to connect to the control pipe via a network connection.

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 confidence

TightVNC Server for Windows versions before 2.8.84 contains an improper access control vulnerability where the control pipe (used for inter-process communication between server components) can be accessed via network connections rather than being restricted to local access. This allows remote unauthenticated attackers to potentially interact with the VNC server's control interface, which could lead to remote code execution or session hijacking.

MitigationUpgrade TightVNC Server for Windows to version 2.8.84 or later. Until patched, restrict network access to VNC ports via firewall rules and ensure the server is not directly exposed to untrusted networks.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

CVSS 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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify TightVNC Server is installed
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion' in PowerShell to list installed software. Look for 'TightVNC' in the results.
    Affected if TightVNC Server appears in the installed programs list
  2. Determine the installed TightVNC version
    Run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like "*TightVNC*"} | Select-Object DisplayVersion' in PowerShell, or right-click the TightVNC Server service in Services.msc and check the executable path, then right-click that .exe and view Properties > Details for the version.
    Affected if The version number shown is lower than 2.8.84 (for example, 2.8.81, 2.8.63, etc.)
  3. Confirm TightVNC service is running and listening on network ports
    Open Command Prompt and run 'netstat -ano | findstr "5900"' or use PowerShell 'Get-NetTCPConnection -LocalPort 5900 | Select-Object LocalAddress, State' to see if the VNC listener is bound to 0.0.0.0 or an external IP rather than only 127.0.0.1.
    Affected if The service is listening on 0.0.0.0 or a non-local IP address, indicating network exposure
  4. Check if the control pipe is network-accessible
    Attempt to connect to the control pipe endpoint via network or examine TightVNC configuration files (typically in the installation directory or AppData) for settings related to 'controlpipe' or 'allowremote' parameters. In a default install, the control pipe uses a named pipe that should not accept network connections.
    Affected if The control interface or associated pipe is configured to accept remote connections, or the server accepts control commands from non-localhost sources

A system is affected if TightVNC Server for Windows version is installed and the version is lower than 2.8.84, and the server is exposed to network connections.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade TightVNC Server for Windows to version 2.8.84 or later. Until patched, restrict network access to VNC ports via firewall rules and ensure the server is not directly exposed to untrusted networks.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

TightVNC Server for Windows 2.8.84 or later

  1. Identify the current TightVNC Server for Windows version installed on the system
  2. Navigate to the official TightVNC download page at sourceforge.net or www.tightvnc.com
  3. Download TightVNC Server version 2.8.84 or later
  4. Stop the TightVNC Server service if currently running
  5. Uninstall the current (vulnerable) version of TightVNC
  6. Install the newly downloaded version (2.8.84 or later)
  7. Restart the TightVNC Server service
  8. Verify the installed version is 2.8.84 or later

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,820
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-42049 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data