CVE-2023-36884: Microsoft Windows Search Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Reference page built from the source records below, each shown as its source publishes it. Dataset version ref-bd69b5e55936, updated 2026-11-02T23:39:54.475Z.
CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
- Name
- Microsoft Windows Search Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
- Vendor
- Microsoft
- Product
- Windows
- Added to the catalog
- 2023-07-17
- Due date for US federal agencies
- 2023-08-29
- Weaknesses
- CWE-362
- Catalog version
- 2026.10.30
Microsoft Windows Search contains an unspecified vulnerability that could allow an attacker to evade Mark of the Web (MOTW) defenses via a specially crafted malicious file, leading to remote code execution.
Required action (CISA)
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Ransomware use: CISA marks this vulnerability as known to be used in ransomware campaigns. CISA does not say which group used it.
Links in CISA's notes
- https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2023-36884
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-36884
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
- 2023-07-11T19:15:09.623
- Last modified
- 2026-08-10T16:18:30.637
- Weaknesses
- CWE-362
Windows Search Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
| Metric | Score | Severity | Vector | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.5 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H | [email protected] (Secondary) |
| CVSS 3.1 | 7.5 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H | [email protected] (Secondary) |
References
- https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2023-36884 (Patch, Vendor Advisory)
- http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2023/Jul/43 (Broken Link, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
- https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2023-36884 (Patch, Vendor Advisory)
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2023-36884 (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-2023-36884
CVE record
- Title (CNA)
- Windows Search Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
- Assigner
- microsoft
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Published
- 2023-07-11T18:14:23.245Z
- Updated
- 2026-08-10T15:11:49.454Z
- Problem types
- CWE-362: Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')
References
Read on 2026-11-03T02:04:09.393Z under licence cve-terms-of-use@81bfa2f3 from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/main/cves/2023/36xxx/CVE-2023-36884.json
Detection rules (SigmaHQ)
SigmaHQ rules whose own tags name this CVE. Each rule page shows the rule as its author published it.
- Potential CVE-2023-36884 Exploitation Pattern (status test, level critical)
- Potential CVE-2023-36884 Exploitation - Share Access (status test, level high)
- Potential CVE-2023-36884 Exploitation - File Downloads (status test, level medium)
- Potential CVE-2023-36884 Exploitation Dropped File (status test, level medium)
- Potential CVE-2023-36884 URL Request Pattern Traffic (status test, level high)
- Potential CVE-2023-36884 Exploitation - URL Marker (status test, level high)
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.
CWE-362: Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')
- Harden: Domain Logic Validation (acts on Subroutine)
- Harden: Variable Initialization (acts on Subroutine)
- Isolate: Application-based Process Isolation (acts on Subroutine)
- Harden: Credential Scrubbing (acts on Subroutine)
- Model: Software Inventory (acts on Software)
- Harden: Trusted Library (acts on Subroutine)
- Restore: Restore Software (acts on Software)
- Harden: Software Update (acts on Software)
- Model: Asset Vulnerability Enumeration (acts on Software)
D3FEND ontology version 1.6.0.
Read on 2026-11-02T23:56:12.176Z under licence d3fend-terms-of-use@f98cbc7e from https://d3fend.mitre.org/api/weakness/cwe/CWE-362.json
MITRE D3FEND™ knowledge graph. © 2025 The MITRE Corporation.
"The MITRE Corporation (MITRE) hereby grants you a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use D3FEND for research, development, and commercial purposes. Any copy you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you reproduce MITRE's copyright designation and this license in any such copy." Terms: https://d3fend.mitre.org/tou/
Sources and licences
CISA
Source: CISA Catalog of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, version 2026.10.30, CC0 1.0. Use of this data does not imply endorsement by CISA or DHS.
National Vulnerability Database (NIST)
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
NVD API Terms of Use (NIST publications in the public domain, 17 U.S.C. 105)
CVE Program, The MITRE Corporation
Copyright © 1999-2026, The MITRE Corporation. CVE is a trademark and the CVE logo is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation. CVE Usage: MITRE hereby grants you a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable copyright license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and distribute Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE™). Any copy you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you reproduce MITRE's copyright designation and this license in any such copy.
SigmaHQ
"Potential CVE-2023-36884 Exploitation Pattern" by X__Junior (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules-emerging-threats/2023/Exploits/CVE-2023-36884/proxy_exploit_cve_2023_36884_office_windows_html_rce.yml.
Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-LicenseSigmaHQ
"Potential CVE-2023-36884 Exploitation - Share Access" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules-emerging-threats/2023/Exploits/CVE-2023-36884/win_security_exploit_cve_2023_36884_office_windows_html_rce_share_access_pattern.yml.
Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-LicenseSigmaHQ
"Potential CVE-2023-36884 Exploitation - File Downloads" by X__Junior (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules-emerging-threats/2023/Exploits/CVE-2023-36884/proxy_exploit_cve_2023_36884_office_windows_html_rce_traffic.yml.
Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-LicenseSigmaHQ
"Potential CVE-2023-36884 Exploitation Dropped File" by Nasreddine Bencherchali (Nextron Systems), X__Junior (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules-emerging-threats/2023/Exploits/CVE-2023-36884/file_event_win_exploit_cve_2023_36884_office_windows_html_rce_file_patterns.yml.
Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-LicenseSigmaHQ
"Potential CVE-2023-36884 URL Request Pattern Traffic" by X__Junior (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules-emerging-threats/2023/Exploits/CVE-2023-36884/proxy_exploit_cve_2023_36884_office_windows_html_rce_extenstion_ip_pattern_traffic.yml.
Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-LicenseSigmaHQ
"Potential CVE-2023-36884 Exploitation - URL Marker" by X__Junior (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules-emerging-threats/2023/Exploits/CVE-2023-36884/proxy_exploit_cve_2023_36884_office_windows_html_rce_url_marker_traffic.yml.
Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-LicenseMITRE D3FEND
MITRE D3FEND™ knowledge graph. © 2025 The MITRE Corporation.
"The MITRE Corporation (MITRE) hereby grants you a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use D3FEND for research, development, and commercial purposes. Any copy you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you reproduce MITRE's copyright designation and this license in any such copy." Terms: https://d3fend.mitre.org/tou/MITRE D3FEND Terms of Use (site + knowledge graph); source repo MIT
Cite this page
Dragons Eye Ransomware Tracker, "CVE-2023-36884: Microsoft Windows Search Remote Code Execution Vulnerability",
entity page, dataset version ref-bd69b5e55936, updated 2026-11-02T23:39:54.475Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/cve/CVE-2023-36884 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: CISA Catalog of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, version 2026.10.30.
Underlying source: National Vulnerability Database (NIST), CVE API 2.0, record last modified 2026-08-10T16:18:30.637.
Underlying source: CVE List (CVE Program, The MITRE Corporation), record updated 2026-08-10T15:11:49.454Z.
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 0066d244-c277-4c3e-88ec-9e7b777cc8bc, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 3df95076-9e78-4e63-accb-16699c3b74f8, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 6af1617f-c179-47e3-bd66-b28034a1052d, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 8023d3a2-dcdc-44da-8fa9-5c7906e55b38, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule d9365e39-febd-4a4b-8441-3ca91bb9d333, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule e59f71ff-c042-4f7a-8a82-8f53beea817e, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.
Underlying source: MITRE D3FEND, ontology version 1.6.0.
Pages change. The dataset version identifies the data, but no archive of old versions is kept, so this citation cannot be replayed later.