CVE-2023-38181
Published: 08 August 2023
Summary
CVE-2023-38181 is a high-severity Deserialization of Untrusted Data (CWE-502) vulnerability in Microsoft Exchange Server. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).
Operationally, ranked in the top 4.2% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
Deeper analysis
Microsoft Exchange Server contains a spoofing vulnerability tracked as CVE-2023-38181 and assigned CWE-502. The flaw affects on-premises Exchange deployments and carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.8, reflecting network attack vector, low complexity, and low privileges required to reach high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
An authenticated remote attacker can exploit the issue to spoof identity or data within the Exchange environment, potentially leading to unauthorized access or manipulation of mailbox contents and server configuration. The attack does not require user interaction and can be launched over the network without elevated privileges.
Microsoft has published remediation guidance and security updates for the vulnerability at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2023-38181. Administrators should apply the vendor patches corresponding to their Exchange version to address the spoofing condition.
The associated EPSS score reached a peak of 0.2386 and currently stands at 0.2132, indicating moderate and relatively stable exploitation interest since disclosure.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2023-42003
Vulnerability details
Microsoft Exchange Server Spoofing Vulnerability
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Penetration testing supplies malicious serialized objects, detecting unsafe deserialization and supporting corrective actions.
Evaluation of untrusted data handling (deserialization testing) reveals unsafe processing, which the required remediation process addresses.
Untrusted serialized data can be deserialized and observed inside the chamber, blocking gadget-chain exploitation outside the sandbox.
Validates or rejects untrusted serialized data before deserialization occurs.
Identifies and blocks malicious code introduced through deserialization of untrusted data at system boundaries.
Integrity verification of serialized information can detect tampering before deserialization occurs.
Provenance of associated data allows detection of untrusted sources before deserialization or processing occurs.