Microsoft patches Windows flaw exploited in the wild (CVE-2022-41033)

Microsoft has identified a vulnerability affecting the cluster connect feature of Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes clusters. This vulnerability could allow an unauthenticated user to elevate their privileges and potentially gain administrative control over the Kubernetes cluster. Additionally, because Azure Stack Edge allows customers to deploy Kubernetes workloads on their devices via Azure Arc, Azure Stack Edge devices are also vulnerable to this vulnerability.

Microsoft Office Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Microsoft SharePoint Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CVE-2022-41033 is an elevation-of-privilege flaw in the Microsoft Windows COM+ Event System Service, classified under CWE-843 (access of a resource using an incompatible type). It is triggered locally: an attacker who can already execute code on a machine with limited (low-privilege) rights can exploit the vulnerable service with no user interaction, per the CVSS vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N). Successful exploitation elevates the attacker to the highest local privilege level, with high impact on the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the system — a typical post-compromise privilege-escalation step for an attacker who already has a foothold. The flaw affects the Windows releases in the CISA CPE data — Windows 7, 8.1, RT 8.1, Windows 10 (1507, 1607, 1809, 20H2, 21H1, 21H2), Windows 11 (21H2, 22H2), and Windows Server 2008 — meaning effectively the broad Windows installed base. Microsoft patched it in the October 2022 Patch Tuesday release and it was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2022-10-11 as exploited in the wild; no public PoC is known, ransomware use is unknown, and EPSS currently estimates a 1.7% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days (75th percentile).

Do: Apply the October 2022 Windows security updates (or any later cumulative update) on all affected Windows clients and servers, prioritizing hosts where low-privileged users can run code, such as workstations, terminal/RDS servers, and VDI images — this also satisfies the CISA KEV required action. Until patched, treat any unprivileged compromise of a Windows host as potentially escalated to full local privilege, and restrict untrusted local code execution where possible. Verify remediation by confirming the October 2022 (or newer) cumulative update level on each host rather than relying on OS version alone.

Microsoft SharePoint Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

CVE-2022-41040 is a server-side request forgery (SSRF, CWE-918) vulnerability in Microsoft Exchange Server, publicly tracked under the name "ProxyNotShell" together with CVE-2022-41082. It is triggered when an attacker sends crafted HTTP requests to exposed Exchange web endpoints (such as Autodiscover), causing the server to issue attacker-influenced requests to itself. On its own the SSRF coerces authenticated server-side requests, but when chained with the CVE-2022-41082 remote code execution flaw it gives the attacker code execution on the Exchange server, typically followed by web shells, data access, and — in observed campaigns — ransomware deployment. Organizations running on-premises Microsoft Exchange Server are affected; the source data lists only Microsoft Exchange Server and does not specify affected version ranges, and hosted Exchange Online is a separate product not listed here. The vulnerability is being actively exploited in the wild: it was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2022-09-30 with known ransomware use, and EPSS assigns it a 100% probability of exploitation within 30 days; no public PoC is listed.

Do: Apply Microsoft's Exchange Server security updates per vendor instructions immediately, as required by the CISA KEV catalog. As interim mitigation, restrict or block untrusted internet access to Exchange web endpoints (e.g., Autodiscover, OWA, ECP), and review IIS logs for suspicious crafted requests indicating SSRF or the chained CVE-2022-41082 exploitation. Given documented ransomware use, prioritize any internet-facing Exchange server and hunt for web shells and post-exploitation activity.