CVE-2022-42948

helpsystems cobalt strike

Published 24 Mar 2023 · updated 17 Jun 2026 · Analyzed

9.8 Critical · CVSS 3.1, NVD

Exploited in the wild

CISA added this to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 30 Mar 2023, with a remediation deadline of 20 Apr 2023 for US federal agencies.

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Description

Cobalt Strike 4.7.1 fails to properly escape HTML tags when they are displayed on Swing components. By injecting crafted HTML code, it is possible to remotely execute code in the Cobalt Strike UI.

References

thesecmaster.com/how-to-fix-cve-2022-42948-a-critical-rce-vulnerability-in-cobalt-strike/ · Technical Description, Third Party Advisory
www.cobaltstrike.com/blog/ · Vendor Advisory
www.redpacketsecurity.com/helpsystems-cobalt-strike-code-execution-cve-2022-42948/ · Third Party Advisory
www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2022-42948 · US Government Resource