CVE-2022-42948

Exp

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.

Published: 2023-03-24 Last update: 2025-11-03 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2022-42948 is rated Critical Active Threat (98/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 22.06%, 96th percentile). CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2023-03-30) affecting Fortra / Cobalt Strike. a weakness (CWE-116) Unauthenticated remote administrative access may be possible. The CISA remediation deadline has passed—treat as an emergency patch priority.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

CISA KEV Record for CVE-2022-42948

Name: Fortra Cobalt Strike User Interface Remote Code Execution Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail

Exploit added: 2023-03-30

Action due: 2023-04-20

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2022-42948

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-05-16 21.82% 22.06% +0.25%
2 2026-05-06 22.06% 21.82% -0.25%
3 2026-04-14 — 22.06% —

Full EPSS history (45 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-42948

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 5.9 [email protected]
9.8 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 3.9 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2022-42948

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-42948

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
helpsystems cobalt_strike 4.7.1 cpe:2.3:a:helpsystems:cobalt_strike:4.7.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2022-42948

cvelogic Threat Intelligence