The BSI warns of a vulnerability in Outlook that is apparently already being actively exploited. The CVSS value of the vulnerability is 9.8 and is therefore considered critical. Microsoft is already providing an update that should be installed immediately if it didn't happen automatically.
On March 14, 2023, Microsoft released updates for numerous vulnerabilities as part of its monthly Patch Days - including several patches for security vulnerabilities that are classified as "critical" according to the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) with values of 9.0 and higher.
Important patch ready
The publications include: the patch for a "Microsoft Outlook Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability" (CVE-2023-23397; CVSS score 9.8), where the company indicates that the vulnerability is already being actively exploited. According to this, attackers could use a manipulated e-mail to intercept Net-NTLMv2 hashes. The attack already occurs when the e-mail is processed on the e-mail server - no action by the recipient is necessary. All versions of Outlook for Windows are affected. More information can be found in Microsoft's blog post.
More critical vulnerabilities with 9.8 out of 10
Microsoft lists the following vulnerabilities as rated with the highest CVSS scores, but not yet actively exploited according to the current state of knowledge:
- HTTP Protocol Stack Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (CVE-2023-23392; CVSS score 9.8): A vulnerability in primarily Windows Server 2022 if the HTTP/3 protocol is enabled.
- Remote Procedure Call Runtime Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (CVE-2023-21708; CVSS Score 9.8): Affected are Windows servers whose port 135 (RPC Endpoint Mapper) can be reached.
- Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (CVE-2023-23415; CVSS score 9.8): If an application on the system uses raw sockets, code could be executed remotely on the system using manipulated IP packets.
IT security managers should check the installation of the published patches promptly. In doing so, mitigation of the "Microsoft Outlook Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability" (CVE-2023-23397) described above should be pursued with particular priority due to the exploitation that has already been observed. In addition, it is strongly recommended to review the other updates in the short term. Although no attacks are known here yet, the manufacturer assumes that there is a high probability that they will take place.
According to Microsoft, attackers can use the Net-NTLMv2023 hashes obtained by exploiting CVE-23397-2 for NTLM relay attacks. NTLM relay attacks can be mitigated by activating strict SMB and LDAP signing, Extended Protection for Authentication (EPA) or ideally by completely disabling NTLM authentication. Microsoft provides a script to investigate whether an attack on its own systems has already taken place.
More at BSI.bund.de
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