CVE-2024-38094 is a high-severity vulnerability identified in Microsoft SharePoint Enterprise Server 2016, specifically version 16.0.0. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-502, which pertains to the deserialization of untrusted data. Deserialization vulnerabilities occur when an application deserializes data from untrusted sources without sufficient validation, potentially allowing an attacker to manipulate the deserialized data to execute arbitrary code. In this case, the vulnerability enables remote code execution (RCE), meaning an attacker could execute malicious code on the affected SharePoint server remotely. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.2 reflects a high severity, with the vector indicating that the attack can be performed remotely over the network (AV:N), requires low attack complexity (AC:L), but requires high privileges (PR:H) and no user interaction (UI:N). The scope is unchanged (S:U), and the impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability is high (C:H/I:H/A:H). Although no known exploits are currently reported in the wild, the vulnerability's nature and impact make it a significant risk. The lack of published patches at the time of this report emphasizes the need for immediate attention from organizations using this SharePoint version. The vulnerability could allow attackers with elevated privileges to execute arbitrary code, potentially leading to full system compromise, data theft, or disruption of services hosted on SharePoint Enterprise Server 2016.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2024-38094 could be substantial. SharePoint is widely used across various sectors including government, finance, healthcare, and large enterprises for collaboration and document management. A successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data, intellectual property theft, disruption of business operations, and potential compliance violations under regulations such as GDPR. Given the high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, organizations could face operational downtime, reputational damage, and financial losses. The requirement for high privileges to exploit the vulnerability suggests that insider threats or attackers who have already gained some level of access could leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and move laterally within networks. This risk is particularly critical for organizations with complex SharePoint deployments and those that integrate SharePoint with other critical business systems.

To mitigate CVE-2024-38094, European organizations should prioritize the following actions: 1) Apply any official patches or updates from Microsoft as soon as they become available. Since no patch links are currently provided, organizations should monitor Microsoft’s security advisories closely. 2) Restrict administrative privileges on SharePoint servers to the minimum necessary and enforce strict access controls to reduce the risk of privilege escalation. 3) Implement network segmentation to isolate SharePoint servers from less trusted network zones, limiting exposure to potential attackers. 4) Enable and review detailed logging and monitoring on SharePoint servers to detect unusual activities that could indicate exploitation attempts. 5) Conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing focused on deserialization vulnerabilities and privilege escalation paths within SharePoint environments. 6) Educate administrators and security teams about the risks of deserialization vulnerabilities and the importance of applying principle of least privilege. 7) Consider deploying Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with rules designed to detect and block suspicious deserialization payloads targeting SharePoint. 8) Review and harden SharePoint configurations, disabling unnecessary features or services that could be leveraged by attackers.