CVE-2022-42948: Fortra Cobalt Strike User Interface Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities

Name

Fortra Cobalt Strike User Interface Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Vendor

Fortra

Product

Cobalt Strike

Added to the catalog

2023-03-30

Due date for US federal agencies

2023-04-20

Weaknesses

CWE-79, CWE-116

Catalog version

2026.10.30

Fortra Cobalt Strike User Interface contains an unspecified vulnerability rooted in Java Swing that may allow remote code execution.

Required action (CISA)

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Ransomware use: CISA does not mark known use of this vulnerability in ransomware campaigns.

Links in CISA's notes

• https://www.cobaltstrike.com/blog/out-of-band-update-cobalt-strike-4-7-2/
• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-42948

Read on 2026-11-02T23:39:54.475Z under licence cisa-kev-cc0@b0067899 from https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json

NVD analysis

Status

Analyzed

Published

2023-03-24T14:15:09.927

Last modified

2026-06-17T05:05:39.117

Weaknesses

CWE-116

Cobalt Strike 4.7.1 fails to properly escape HTML tags when they are displayed on Swing components. By injecting crafted HTML code, it is possible to remotely execute code in the Cobalt Strike UI.

References

• https://thesecmaster.com/how-to-fix-cve-2022-42948-a-critical-rce-vulnerability-in-cobalt-strike/ (Technical Description, Third Party Advisory)
• https://www.cobaltstrike.com/blog/ (Vendor Advisory)
• https://www.redpacketsecurity.com/helpsystems-cobalt-strike-code-execution-cve-2022-42948/ (Third Party Advisory)
• https://thesecmaster.com/how-to-fix-cve-2022-42948-a-critical-rce-vulnerability-in-cobalt-strike/ (Technical Description, Third Party Advisory)
• https://www.cobaltstrike.com/blog/ (Vendor Advisory)
• https://www.redpacketsecurity.com/helpsystems-cobalt-strike-code-execution-cve-2022-42948/ (Third Party Advisory)
• https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2022-42948 (US Government Resource)

This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.

Read on 2026-11-02T23:42:08.214Z under licence nvd-api-terms-of-use@ff2a5288 from https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?cveId=CVE-2022-42948

CVE record

Assigner

mitre

State

PUBLISHED

Published

2023-03-24T00:00:00.000Z

Updated

2025-10-21T23:15:21.818Z

Problem types

n/a

Cobalt Strike 4.7.1 fails to properly escape HTML tags when they are displayed on Swing components. By injecting crafted HTML code, it is possible to remotely execute code in the Cobalt Strike UI.

References

• https://www.cobaltstrike.com/blog/
• https://www.redpacketsecurity.com/helpsystems-cobalt-strike-code-execution-cve-2022-42948/
• https://thesecmaster.com/how-to-fix-cve-2022-42948-a-critical-rce-vulnerability-in-cobalt-strike/

Read on 2026-11-03T02:02:00.887Z under licence cve-terms-of-use@81bfa2f3 from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/main/cves/2022/42xxx/CVE-2022-42948.json

Defensive techniques (MITRE D3FEND)

D3FEND maps these defensive techniques to the weakness (CWE) that NVD lists for this CVE, through the digital artifacts the weakness affects. D3FEND does not say they stop this vulnerability.

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