CVE-2023-36742: Visual Studio Code Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Overview

Severity
High (CVSS 7.8)
CVSS Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C
Category
Remote Code Execution
Exploit Status
Not Exploited
Exploitation Likelihood
Less Likely
Patch Tuesday
2023-Sep
Released
2023-09-12
EPSS Score
0.24% (percentile: 46.4%)

FAQ

According to the CVSS metric, the attack vector is local (AV:L). Why does the CVE title indicate that this is a remote code execution? The word Remote in the title refers to the location of the attacker. This type of exploit is sometimes referred to as Arbitrary Code Execution (ACE). The attack itself is carried out locally. This means an attacker or victim needs to execute code from the local machine to exploit the vulnerability. According to the CVSS metric, user interaction is required (UI:R). What interaction would the user have to do? The user would have to open in VS Code a malicious folder that was shared with them.

Affected Products (1)

Developer Tools

  • Visual Studio Code

Security Updates (1)

Acknowledgments

<a href="https://infosec.exchange/@swapgs">Thomas Chauchefoin</a> with <a href="https://www.sonarsource.com/">Sonar</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/pspaul95">Paul Gerste</a> with <a href="https://sonarsource.com/">Sonar</a>

Revision History

  • 2023-09-12: Information published.