Resource Allocation Without LimitsWeakness · CWE-770

CVE-2024-57972

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-03-06
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
70/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
The pairing API request handler in Microsoft HoloLens 1 (Windows Holographic) through 10.0.17763.3046 and HoloLens 2 (Windows Holographic) through 10.0.22621.1244 allows remote attackers to cause a Denial of Service (resource consumption and device unusability) by sending many requests through the Device Portal framework.

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 · moderate confidence

The pairing API request handler in Microsoft HoloLens Device Portal lacks proper rate limiting, allowing remote attackers to send numerous requests that exhaust system resources and render the device unusable. This is a resource consumption DoS affecting both HoloLens 1 and 2 versions.

MitigationImplement rate limiting and request throttling on the Device Portal pairing API endpoint; apply Microsoft firmware updates when available. Consider network-level protections such as WAF or IP filtering to limit request rates.

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
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

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

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

  1. Confirm HoloLens device presence on network
    Identify HoloLens devices on your network by scanning for devices responding to port 80/443 or by checking your network inventory/MDM for HoloLens 1 or HoloLens 2 devices.
    Affected if Any HoloLens 1 or 2 device exists on the network with Device Portal accessible.
  2. Verify Device Portal is enabled
    Check if the HoloLens Device Portal web interface is accessible by navigating to https://<hololens-ip> in a browser or running 'curl -k https://<hololens-ip>' from a command line.
    Affected if The Device Portal returns an HTTP 200 response and displays the login page.
  3. Confirm pairing API endpoint accessibility
    Check if the pairing API is reachable by attempting a request to the endpoint (typically /api/holographic/management/pairing or similar pairing-related paths under /api/). Use: curl -k -X POST https://<hololens-ip>/api/holographic/management/pairing
    Affected if The endpoint responds without authentication or returns a pairing-related error indicating the API is exposed.
  4. Check for rate limiting configuration
    Review the Device Portal configuration or check system event logs for any rate limiting or throttling indicators. Inspect any proxy/WAF configurations in front of the Device Portal for rate limit rules.
    Affected if No rate limiting rules are found on the Device Portal or upstream network devices, and the pairing API accepts requests without throttling.
  5. Review authentication settings
    Examine whether the pairing API requires authentication or can be accessed anonymously. Check the Device Portal security settings and API permissions.
    Affected if The pairing API is accessible without requiring authentication or can be accessed via the Device Portal without enforced rate limiting.

A user is affected if they have an exposed HoloLens Device Portal with the pairing API accessible without rate limiting controls, allowing unlimited requests to exhaust device resources.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Implement rate limiting and request throttling on the Device Portal pairing API endpoint; apply Microsoft firmware updates when available. Consider network-level protections such as WAF or IP filtering to limit request rates.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,800
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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-2024-57972 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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