CVE-2023-36884
Windows Search Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
- CVSS
- 7.5Highscored by the publisher (CNA)
- Exploited in the wild
- Yes, in CISA KEV since 17 Jul 2023CISA deadline for US federal agencies: 29 Aug 2023known use in ransomware campaignsunvetted proof-of-concept code on github
- EPSS
- 99.4%chance of exploitation in the next 30 daystop 0.1% of scored CVEsFIRST score of 11 Nov 2026
- Fix
- Patch availablesee the advisories in the references
- Published
- 11 Jul 2023analysed here 12 Nov 2026
Do first. Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. (CISA's required action for this KEV entry)
Summary
Triage
The summary, impact and action text on this page are written by our AI analysis pipeline, or taken from the NVD description when a CVE was imported from NVD. They are not the vendor's wording: check them against the sources. A longer AI executive summary and technical analysis are generated for signed-in accounts on the Max plan.
Affected products
| Product | Affected versions | Vendor says fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1507 | >= 10.0.10240.0 and < 10.0.10240.20107Vendor says fixed in: not stated | |
| Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1607 | >= 10.0.14393.0 and < 10.0.14393.6167Vendor says fixed in: not stated | |
| Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1809 | >= 10.0.17763.0 and < 10.0.17763.4737>= 10.0.0 and < 10.0.17763.4737Vendor says fixed in: not stated | |
| Microsoft Windows 10 Version 21H2 | >= 10.0.19044.0 and < 10.0.19044.3324Vendor says fixed in: not stated | |
| Microsoft Windows 10 Version 22H2 | >= 10.0.19045.0 and < 10.0.19045.3324Vendor says fixed in: not stated | |
| Microsoft Windows 11 version 21H2 | >= 10.0.22000.0 and < 10.0.22000.2295Vendor says fixed in: not stated | |
| Microsoft Windows 11 version 22H2 | >= 10.0.22621.0 and < 10.0.22621.2134Vendor says fixed in: not stated | |
| Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 | >= 6.1.7601.0 and < 6.1.7601.26664Vendor says fixed in: not stated | |
| Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (Server Core installation) | >= 6.1.7601.0 and < 6.1.7601.26664Vendor says fixed in: not stated | |
| Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 | >= 6.0.6003.0 and < 6.0.6003.22216Vendor says fixed in: not stated | |
| Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 | >= 6.0.6003.0 and < 6.0.6003.22216Vendor says fixed in: not stated | |
| Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 (Server Core installation) | >= 6.0.6003.0 and < 6.0.6003.22216Vendor says fixed in: not stated | |
| Microsoft Windows Server 2012 | >= 6.2.9200.0 and < 6.2.9200.24414Vendor says fixed in: not stated | |
| Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 | >= 6.3.9600.0 and < 6.3.9600.21503Vendor says fixed in: not stated | |
| Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 (Server Core installation) | >= 6.3.9600.0 and < 6.3.9600.21503Vendor says fixed in: not stated | |
| Microsoft Windows Server 2012 (Server Core installation) | >= 6.2.9200.0 and < 6.2.9200.24414Vendor says fixed in: not stated | |
| Microsoft Windows Server 2016 | >= 10.0.14393.0 and < 10.0.14393.6167Vendor says fixed in: not stated | |
| Microsoft Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation) | >= 10.0.14393.0 and < 10.0.14393.6167Vendor says fixed in: not stated | |
| Microsoft Windows Server 2019 | >= 10.0.17763.0 and < 10.0.17763.4737Vendor says fixed in: not stated | |
| Microsoft Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation) | >= 10.0.17763.0 and < 10.0.17763.4737Vendor says fixed in: not stated | |
| Microsoft Windows Server 2022 | >= 10.0.20348.0 and < 10.0.20348.1906Vendor says fixed in: not stated |
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.
Products named in our analysis
- microsoft:windows_10_1507
- microsoft:windows_10_1607
- microsoft:windows_10_1809
- microsoft:windows_10_21h2
- microsoft:windows_10_22h2
- microsoft:windows_11_21h2
- microsoft:windows_11_22h2
- microsoft:windows_server_2008
- microsoft:windows_server_2012
- microsoft:windows_server_2016
- microsoft:windows_server_2019
- microsoft:windows_server_2022
Fix and mitigation
WAF and other mitigations
Can a WAF block it? No. The vulnerability affects Windows Search and requires user interaction on the local machine, such as opening a file or running something. It is not triggered via web requests, so a web application firewall cannot filter or block it.
Also consider: patch
Based on an AI reading of the CVE description, and no vendor rule found yet. We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.
Remediation steps (AI-written)
Step-by-step remediation is generated for accounts on the Max plan, for CVEs that match a technology in their stack. Add this technology to your stack to see the fix checklist.
Exploitation evidence
- CISA KEV catalog
- Listed since 17 Jul 2023. Known use in ransomware campaigns.
- CISA due date
- 29 Aug 2023, the remediation deadline for US federal agencies
- CISA required action
- Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
- Public exploit code
- Unvetted proof-of-concept code on GitHub: 9 GitHub proofs of concept
- CISA SSVC
- exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact totalAssessed by CISA 9 Dec 2023 (SSVC 2.0.3). Exploitation is none, poc (public proof of concept) or active.
GitHub proofs of concept
- jakabakos/CVE-2023-36884-MS-Office-HTML-RCE41 stars
- Maxwitat/CVE-2023-36884-Scripts-for-Intune-Remediation-SCCM-Compliance-Baseline25 stars
- tarraschk/CVE-2023-36884-Checker16 stars
- zerosorai/CVE-2023-368842 stars
and 5 more repositories
Listed so you can judge urgency, not as a recommendation to run anything. GitHub “proofs of concept” are unvetted: some are fake or carry malware. Exploit-DB marks the entries its staff verified.
Timeline
- 11 Jul 2023Published
- 12 Jul 2023First proof-of-concept repository on GitHub (unvetted)same day later
- 17 Jul 2023Added to CISA KEV (exploited in the wild)5 days later
- 29 Aug 2023CISA remediation due date (US federal agencies)43 days later
- 9 Dec 2023CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active102 days (about 3 months) later
- 10 Aug 2026CVE record last updated975 days (about 3 years) later
- 12 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com94 days (about 3 months) later
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
| Metric | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Attack vector | NetworkReachable over the internet or any routable network. | Reachable over the internet or any routable network. |
| Attack complexity | HighNeeds specific conditions, a race or a particular configuration. | Needs specific conditions, a race or a particular configuration. |
| Privileges required | NoneThe attacker needs no prior access. | The attacker needs no prior access. |
| User interaction | RequiredA victim must click, open or otherwise cooperate. | A victim must click, open or otherwise cooperate. |
| Scope | UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component. | Impact stays within the vulnerable component. |
| Confidentiality | HighTotal data disclosure possible. | Total data disclosure possible. |
| Integrity | HighComplete modification possible. | Complete modification possible. |
| Availability | HighFull outage possible. | Full outage possible. |
Common questions
Is CVE-2023-36884 being exploited?
Yes. CVE-2023-36884 appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed and reported. Treat it as active rather than theoretical, and patch it ahead of higher-scoring vulnerabilities that carry no exploitation evidence.
How severe is CVE-2023-36884?
CVE-2023-36884 is rated High with a CVSS score of 7.5. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2023-36884?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2023-36884. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2023-36884 affect?
CVE-2023-36884 affects microsoft:windows_10_1507, microsoft:windows_10_1607, microsoft:windows_10_1809, microsoft:windows_10_21h2, and 8 further products or versions. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
References
3 references in the CVE record, grouped by the tags the record gives them.
Patches (1)
- msrc.microsoft.com /update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2023-36884
Other links (2)
- seclists.org /fulldisclosure/2023/Jul/43
- cisa.gov /known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-36884
Where the data on this page comes from
- CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
- NVD: CVSS and CPE data
- CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, due date
- CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
- FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
- PoC-in-GitHub: GitHub repositories that claim a proof of concept
Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.
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