CVE-2024-38112

CVE-2024-38112 is a spoofing flaw (CWE-451) in the Microsoft Windows MSHTML platform, the Windows component used to render web content, including by applications that embed the legacy Internet Explorer engine. It is triggered when a user interacts with attacker-controlled content rendered through MSHTML: the attack requires no privileges, travels over the network, and needs user interaction (UI:R per its CVSS vector), letting an attacker misrepresent critical UI information to the victim. Despite being classified as spoofing, the CVSS impact scores are high across confidentiality, integrity, and availability, and the CVSS base score is 7.5 (High). Any system running the affected Windows 10 (1507, 1607, 1809, 21H2, 22H2), Windows 11 (21H2, 22H2, 23H2), or Windows Server (2008, 2012, 2016, 2019) releases is affected. Exploitation is confirmed in the wild: Microsoft patched it as an actively exploited zero-day in July 2024, CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2024-07-09, and reporting indicates it had been exploited for over a year before the fix.

What to do: Apply Microsoft's July 2024 security updates (Patch Tuesday) across all affected Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server versions, prioritizing internet-facing and user workstations given confirmed in-the-wild exploitation and the 84.2% EPSS score. Until patched, remind users to avoid interacting with untrusted web or document content, since exploitation requires user interaction. Track the fix against CISA's KEV catalog deadlines and verify patch status on all endpoints.