Skip to content
Connect AISign inSign up free
CVE-2021-404448.8HighCWE-22

CVE-2021-40444: Microsoft MSHTML Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Microsoft · Windows 10 Version 1507

Vendor fix available · Affected: Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1507 · Exploitation: in CISA KEV since 3 Nov 2021

Known ransomware use

Not in CyberSIXT coverage yet: no article names this CVE. This page shows the public record.

ExploitationIn CISA KEV

  1. In CISA KEVCISA KEV catalogue3 Nov 2021
  2. Exploited (reported): not seen
  3. Scanning observed: not seen
  4. Proof of concept public: not seen
  5. Not established: not seen
97.8%probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
99th percentile
050100

Higher than 99% of scored CVEs

8.8HighCVSS 3.1
LowHigh

DescriptionCVE.org

Microsoft is investigating reports of a remote code execution vulnerability in MSHTML that affects Microsoft Windows. Microsoft is aware of targeted attacks that attempt to exploit this vulnerability by using specially-crafted Microsoft Office documents. An attacker could craft a malicious ActiveX control to be used by a Microsoft Office document that hosts the browser rendering engine. The attacker would then have to convince the user to open the malicious document. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights. Microsoft Defender Antivirus and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint both provide detection and protections for the known vulnerability. Customers should keep antimalware products up to date. Customers who utilize automatic updates do not need to take additional action. Enterprise customers who manage updates should select the detection build 1.349.22.0 or newer and deploy it across their environments. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint alerts will be displayed as: “Suspicious Cpl File Execution”. Upon completion of this investigation, Microsoft will take the appropriate action to help protect our customers. This may include providing a security update through our monthly release process or providing an out-of-cycle security update, depending on customer needs. Please see the Mitigations and Workaround sections for important information about steps you can take to protect your system from this vulnerability. UPDATE September 14, 2021: Microsoft has released security updates to address this vulnerability. Please see the Security Updates table for the applicable update for your system. We recommend that you install these updates immediately. Please see the FAQ for important information about which updates are applicable to your system.

Affected products20

From the CVE record. A product or version that is not listed is unknown, not unaffected.

  • Microsoft · Windows 10 Version 1507from 10.0.10240.0 before 10.0.10240.19060
  • Microsoft · Windows 10 Version 1607from 10.0.14393.0 before 10.0.14393.4651
  • Microsoft · Windows 10 Version 1809from 10.0.17763.0 before 10.0.17763.2183
  • Microsoft · Windows 10 Version 1809from 10.0.0 before 10.0.17763.2183
  • Microsoft · Windows 10 Version 1909from 10.0.0 before 10.0.18363.1801
  • Microsoft · Windows 10 Version 2004from 10.0.0 before 10.0.19041.1237
  • Microsoft · Windows 10 Version 20H2from 10.0.0 before 10.0.19042.1237
  • Microsoft · Windows 10 Version 21H1from 10.0.0 before 10.0.19043.1237
  • Microsoft · Windows 7from 6.1.0 before 6.1.7601.25712
  • Microsoft · Windows 7 Service Pack 1from 6.1.0 before 6.1.7601.25712
  • Microsoft · Windows 8.1from 6.3.0 before 6.3.9600.20120
  • Microsoft · Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1from 6.1.7601.0 before 6.1.7601.25712
  • Microsoft · Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (Server Core installation)from 6.1.7601.0 before 6.1.7601.25712
  • Microsoft · Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2from 6.0.6003.0 before 6.0.6003.21218
  • Microsoft · Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 (Server Core installation)from 6.0.6003.0 before 6.0.6003.21218
  • Microsoft · Windows Server 2012from 6.2.9200.0 before 6.2.9200.23462
  • Microsoft · Windows Server 2012 (Server Core installation)from 6.2.9200.0 before 6.2.9200.23462
  • Microsoft · Windows Server 2012 R2from 6.3.9600.0 before 6.3.9600.20120
  • Microsoft · Windows Server 2012 R2 (Server Core installation)from 6.3.9600.0 before 6.3.9600.20120
  • Microsoft · Windows Server 2016from 10.0.14393.0 before 10.0.14393.4651

On the Atlas

Every published CVE is on the CyberSIXT Atlas, grouped by weakness, vendor and month.

Open the Atlas
Exploitation
Exploited in the wild. Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue.
CISA KEV
Listed since 3 Nov 2021 · known ransomware use · catalogue entry
Public check
No public nuclei template
Weakness
Path Traversal · File and Path Handling
Vendor
Microsoft
Published
September 2021
Band
Exploited in the wild, September 2021

What changed

  1. CISA’s KEV entry now notes known ransomware use CISA
  2. CISA added it to the KEV catalogue CISA

CoverageNo articles yet

No CyberSIXT article names CVE-2021-40444 yet, so there is no coverage timeline, action brief or change log for it. Everything on this page comes from the public CVE record, CISA KEV, EPSS and the nuclei template index. Search the archive or see the CVEs in the news.

References

CyberSIXTSignal over noise
Sign inSign up free

Updated