CVE-2024-20974VulnerabilityPublished 17 Feb 2024Updated 4 Nov 2025

CVE-2024-20974: Oracle MySQL Server · Easily exploitable vulnerability allows high privileged attacker with network access via multiple

Affects Oracle MySQL ServerSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.9 Medium : upgrade to 8.2.1 or 8.0.36 when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

4.9Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.8% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 58% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 8.2.1, 8.0.36

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: High
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: None
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: High: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide significant (e.g., administrative) control over the vulnerable component that could affect component-wide settings and files.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 17 Feb 2024
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade mysql/mysql-server to 8.2.1 or 8.0.36.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Mysqlmysql/mysql-server`pkg:deb/mysql/mysql-server`Other threats	Affected <8.0.36 <8.2.1	Fixed in 8.0.36 8.2.1

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2024-20974, European organizations should: 1) Apply Oracle's security patches promptly once released for the affected MySQL versions. 2) Restrict network access to MySQL servers using firewalls and network segmentation to limit exposure to trusted hosts and administrative users only. 3) Enforce strict access controls and monitor privileged accounts to prevent unauthorized privilege escalation. 4) Implement robust logging and anomaly detection to identify unusual MySQL server behavior indicative of attempted exploitation or crashes. 5) Consider deploying MySQL high-availability configurations and failover mechanisms to minimize downtime in case of DoS incidents. 6) Regularly audit and update MySQL configurations to disable unnecessary protocols or services that could be exploited. 7) Educate administrators on the risks of high-privilege access and enforce multi-factor authentication for administrative access to reduce insider threat risks. 8) Maintain up-to-date backups to enable rapid recovery if service disruption occurs.

Description

Vulnerability in the MySQL Server product of Oracle MySQL (component: Server: Optimizer). Supported versions that are affected are 8.0.35 and prior and 8.2.0 and prior. Easily exploitable vulnerability allows high privileged attacker with network access via multiple protocols to compromise MySQL Server. Successful attacks of this vulnerability can result in unauthorized ability to cause a hang or frequently repeatable crash (complete DOS) of MySQL Server. CVSS 3.1 Base Score 4.9 (Availability impacts). CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2024-20974 is the potential for denial-of-service attacks against MySQL Server instances, which could disrupt business-critical applications relying on these databases. This could lead to downtime, loss of productivity, and potential financial losses, especially in sectors such as finance, telecommunications, government, and e-commerce where MySQL is prevalent. The requirement for high privileges limits the attack surface to insiders or attackers who have already compromised administrative credentials, but the network-based nature means that once such access is obtained, the attacker can cause repeated server crashes. This could also affect cloud service providers and managed service providers hosting MySQL databases for European clients, amplifying the impact. Additionally, disruption of MySQL services could affect data availability for compliance with regulations like GDPR, potentially leading to regulatory scrutiny if service interruptions impact data subject rights or business continuity.

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 4 Nov 2025, 21:57 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats