CVE-2023-36805: Windows MSHTML Platform Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

Overview

Severity

High (CVSS 7)

CVSS Vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C

Category

Security Feature Bypass

Exploit Status

Not Exploited

Exploitation Likelihood

Less Likely

Patch Tuesday

2023-Sep

Released

2023-09-12

Last Updated

2023-09-22

EPSS Score

0.22% (percentile: 44.7%)

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. For example, when the score indicates that the Attack Vector is Local and User Interaction is Required, this could describe an exploit in which an attacker, through social engineering, convinces a victim to download and open a specially crafted file from a website which leads to a local attack on their computer. According to the CVSS metrics, successful exploitation of this vulnerability could lead to major loss of confidentiality (C:H), integrity (I:H), and availability (A:H). What does that mean for this vulnerability? An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain high privileges, which include read, write, and delete functionality. According to the CVSS metric, the attack complexity is high (AC:H). What does that mean for this vulnerability? Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires an attacker to gather information specific to the environment of the targeted component. The Security Updates table indicates that this vulnerability affects all supported versions of Microsoft Windows. Why are IE Cumulative updates listed for Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Server 2012 R2? While Microsoft has announced retirement of the Internet Explorer 11 application on certain platforms and the Microsoft Edge Legacy application is deprecated, the underlying MSHTML, EdgeHTML, and scripting platforms are still supported. The MSHTML platform is used by Internet Explorer mode in Microsoft Edge as well as other applications through WebBrowser control. The EdgeHTML platform is used by WebView and some UWP applications. The scripting platforms are used by MSHTML and EdgeHTML but can also be used by other le

Affected Products (29)

Windows

• 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 (15)

• 5030214
• 5030216
• 5030325
• 5030217
• 5030211
• 5030219
• 5030220
• 5030213
• 5030265
• 5030261
• 5030209
• 5030278
• 5030279
• 5030269
• 5030287

Acknowledgments

Eduardo Braun Prado working with <a href="https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/">Trend Micro Zero Day Initiative</a>

Revision History

• 2023-09-12: Information published.
• 2023-09-22: In the Security Updates table, added Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2012 as these versions of Windows are affected by this vulnerability. Microsoft recommends that customers install the September 2023 updates to be fully protected from this vulnerability. Customers who install the Security Only updates for these versions of Windows Server should also install the IE Cumulative update to be fully protected from the vulnerability. Customers whose systems are configured to receive automatic updates do not need to take any further action. Also see FAQs for information about the IE Cumulative update.