CVE-2023-35628: Windows MSHTML Platform Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Overview

Severity
High (CVSS 8.1)
CVSS Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C
Category
Remote Code Execution
Exploit Status
Not Exploited
Exploitation Likelihood
More Likely
Patch Tuesday
2023-Dec
Released
2023-12-12
EPSS Score
17.10% (percentile: 95.0%)

FAQ

How could an attacker exploit this vulnerability? Exploitation of this vulnerability requires that an attacker send a malicious link to the victim via email, or that they convince the user to click the link, typically by way of an enticement in an email or Instant Messenger message. In the worst-case email attack scenario, an attacker could send a specially crafted email to the user without a requirement that the victim open, read, or click on the link. This could result in the attacker executing remote code on the victim's machine. When multiple attack vectors can be used, we assign a score based on the scenario with the higher risk (UI:N). According to the CVSS Metric, the attack complexity is high (AC:H). What does that mean for this vulnerability? Successful exploitation of this vulnerability would rely upon complex memory shaping techniques to attempt an attack. Is the Preview Pane an attack vector for this vulnerability? The attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending a specially crafted email which triggers automatically when it is retrieved and processed by the Outlook client. This could lead to exploitation BEFORE the email is viewed in the Preview Pane.

Affected Products (32)

Windows

  • Windows 11 Version 23H2 for x64-based Systems
  • Windows 11 Version 23H2 for ARM64-based Systems
  • Windows Server 2022, 23H2 Edition (Server Core installation)
  • Windows 10 Version 1809 for 32-bit Systems
  • Windows 10 Version 1809 for x64-based Systems
  • Windows 10 Version 1809 for ARM64-based Systems
  • Windows Server 2019
  • Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation)
  • Windows Server 2022
  • Windows Server 2022 (Server Core installation)
  • Windows 11 version 21H2 for x64-based Systems
  • Windows 11 version 21H2 for ARM64-based Systems
  • Windows 10 Version 21H2 for 32-bit Systems
  • Windows 10 Version 21H2 for ARM64-based Systems
  • Windows 10 Version 21H2 for x64-based Systems
  • Windows 11 Version 22H2 for ARM64-based Systems
  • Windows 11 Version 22H2 for x64-based Systems
  • Windows 10 Version 22H2 for x64-based Systems
  • Windows 10 Version 22H2 for ARM64-based Systems
  • Windows 10 Version 22H2 for 32-bit Systems
  • Windows 10 for 32-bit Systems
  • Windows 10 for x64-based Systems
  • Windows 10 Version 1607 for 32-bit Systems
  • Windows 10 Version 1607 for x64-based Systems
  • Windows Server 2016
  • Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation)

ESU

  • Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1 (Server Core installation)
  • Windows Server 2012
  • Windows Server 2012 (Server Core installation)
  • Windows Server 2012 R2
  • Windows Server 2012 R2 (Server Core installation)

Security Updates (14)

Acknowledgments

<a href="https://twitter.com/nachoskrnl">Ben Barnea</a> with <a href="https://www.akamai.com/">Akamai Technologies</a>

Revision History

  • 2023-12-12: Information published.