CVE-2024-8938
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 · uneditedCWE-119: Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer vulnerability exists that could cause a potential arbitrary code execution after a successful Man-In-The-Middle attack followed by sending a crafted Modbus function call to tamper with memory area involved in memory size computation.
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 confidenceA CWE-119 buffer boundary vulnerability in Modbus protocol implementation allows an attacker who has achieved Man-In-The-Middle position to send crafted Modbus function calls that tamper with memory size computation, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution.
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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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.
-
Identify Modbus services runningScan network for open ports typically used by Modbus: TCP ports 502, 102, 2404, or 2404. Use 'netstat -an' or 'ss -tlnp' to list listening services, or review industrial network scans for Modbus device fingerprints.Affected if Modbus services are listening on accessible network ports
-
Determine Modbus software implementation and versionQuery the Modbus device or software for its version information. This may require consulting vendor documentation, checking GUI interfaces, reviewing installed software packages, or using Modbus function code 0x2B (0x0D) / 0x11 (0x0E) to query device identity if supported.Affected if The Modbus implementation version is within any known vulnerable version range, or the version cannot be determined and Modbus is exposed to untrusted networks
-
Verify network accessibilityAssess whether Modbus ports are exposed to untrusted networks. Check firewall rules, VLAN segmentation, and ACLs. Use 'nmap -p 502 --script modbus-discover' or packet capture to confirm Modbus traffic patterns.Affected if Modbus traffic can be intercepted by attackers on the network path (no network segmentation, cleartext traffic on shared media, or insufficient access controls)
-
Check for MITM exposureReview network architecture for vulnerabilities enabling MITM: lack of 802.1X port authentication, unswitched network segments, ARP spoofing susceptibility, or absence of network encryption like TLS for Modbus. Use tools like arpwatch or network monitoring to detect ARP anomalies.Affected if Network conditions permit an attacker to position themselves between Modbus client and server (e.g., no port security, flat network topology, or unencrypted traffic)
You are affected if Modbus services are running and accessible to an attacker who could achieve MITM position to inject crafted function calls.
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.
From vendor dataImplement network segmentation and transport-level security to prevent MITM attacks; add robust input validation and bounds checking on Modbus function call handlers to prevent memory manipulation.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation24.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $14,080.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-8938 — 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-2024-8938 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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