Microsoft’s December 2022 Patch Tuesday Addresses 48 CVEs (CVE-2022-44698)

CVE-2022-44698 | Windows SmartScreen security feature bypass vulnerability

CVE-2022-44698 is a security feature bypass vulnerability in the Windows operating system. This is a mark of the web (MoTW) vulnerability similar to those patched in the November 2022 Patch Tuesday release. All of these MoTW vulnerabilities prevent specially crafted downloads from being marked as being from the web, which affects the integrity and availability of security features that utilize MoTW tagging. This vulnerability was disclosed by Will Dormann.

Where this vulnerability differs, is that it affects the SmartScreen feature of Windows operating systems, rather than the Protected View feature in Office. Successful exploitation prevents SmartScreen from performing a reputation check on the downloaded file. This could lead to a known malicious executable not alerting users that the file may be malicious. According to Microsoft’s Exploitability Index, exploitation of this vulnerability has been detected in the wild.

CVE-2022-44690 and CVE-2022-44693 | Microsoft SharePoint Server remote code execution vulnerabilities

CVE-2022-44690 and CVE-2022-44693 are RCE vulnerabilities in Microsoft SharePoint Server that both received a CVSSv3 score of 8.8. An authenticated attacker with permission to use Manage Lists in SharePoint could exploit these vulnerabilities to execute code remotely. Both vulnerabilities are rated as “Exploitation Less Likely.”

CVE-2022-41089 |.NET Framework remote code execution vulnerability

CVE-2022-41089 is an unauthenticated RCE vulnerability in Microsoft.NET framework with a CVSSv3 score of 8.8 and low attack complexity. However, successful exploitation requires user interaction, making exploitation less likely. Discovery is credited to Nick Landers with NetSPI and Eleftherios Panos with Nettitude.

CVE-2022-41076 | PowerShell remote code execution vulnerability

CVE-2022-41076 is a RCE vulnerability in Windows Powershell that received a CVSSv3 score of 8.5 and was rated as “Exploitation more likely” according to Microsoft’s Exploitability Index. Exploitation of this flaw requires that an authenticated attacker first prepare the target. While the advisory does not detail what actions must be taken, it does note that any authenticated attacker can exploit this vulnerability and no elevated privileges are required. Successful exploitation would allow an attacker to run arbitrary commands on an affected system.

CVE-2022-44678 and CVE-2022-44681 | Windows Print Spooler components elevation of privilege vulnerability

CVE-2022-44678 and CVE-2022-44681 are EoP vulnerabilities in Windows Print Spooler components. As with their many predecessors, these vulnerabilities received a CVSSv3 score of 7.8. However, despite the similarities, Microsoft rated these as “Exploitation Less Likely” and “Exploitation Unlikely” respectively. Discovery is credited to researchers at the Qi’anxin Group.