CVE-2023-28892

Malwarebytes AdwCleaner 8.4.0 runs as Administrator and performs an insecure file delete operation on C:\AdwCleaner\Logs\AdwCleaner_Debug.log in which the target location is user-controllable, allowing a non-admin user to escalate privileges to SYSTEM via a symbolic link.

Published: 2023-03-29 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-28892 is rated Moderate Risk (44.2/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.49%). Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

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

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-28892

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 2026-06-15 0.78% 0.49% -0.29%
2 2026-06-08 0.91% 0.78% -0.13%
3 2026-03-30 — 0.91% —

Full EPSS history (41 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-28892

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
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:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
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.
 1.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-28892

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-28892

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
malwarebytes adwcleaner <= 8.4.0 cpe:2.3:a:malwarebytes:adwcleaner:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-28892

cvelogic Threat Intelligence