Known exploited · Microsoft
CVE-2023-36884: Microsoft Windows Search Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
What it is
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.
- Vendor
- Microsoft
- Product
- Windows
- Added to KEV
- July 17, 2023
- CISA due date
- August 29, 2023
- Ransomware use
- Known
What CISA requires
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Forensic triage
No
What to do now
- Find every instance of Windows you run, including the forgotten ones, and check its version against the vendor advisory.
- Apply the vendor's fix or mitigation, before August 29, 2023 if you are bound by CISA's deadline, sooner if it faces the internet.
- Assume it was tried against you already: look for signs of exploitation from the date it was added, not from the day you patched.
References
H2 Security
Not sure you are clear?
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Start freeSource: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog (public domain), catalog version 2026.10.01.