Threats / Microsoft / CVE-2017-0022
CVE-2017-0022
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
Microsoft XML Core Services vulnerability
Microsoft XML Core Services improperly handles objects in memory, enabling attackers to test for file existence on a victim's disk through a malicious website.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
An information disclosure vulnerability in MSXML allows remote attackers to enumerate files on a target system by crafting a malicious web page that exploits improper memory object handling, potentially revealing sensitive system or user file locations.
CISA KEV Yes · 2022-05-244EPSS 0.18069 (verify live)5CVSS 6.5 (CISA)3CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Impact: partial3
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreReported exploitation
3 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-05-24).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.18069 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 6.5 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N) · Affected: Microsoft, XML Core Services. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CISA-assigned via the ADP container (CVE.org), version 3.1; the CNA left no metrics, so CISA's own score is used ahead of NVD.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-200 Information Exposure — weakness family: Authorization / access control.CWE assignment from the public NVD record (may be stale); the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
CISA SSVC (triage disposition)
Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Technical Impact: partialCISA's own stakeholder-specific triage inputs, published in the CVE record (CISA Coordinator role). NOTE: this is CISA's three decision points; the final Act/Attend/Track decision also requires a Mission & Well-being input not published here, so no overall decision is asserted.
Currency of the record
CISA added this to its KEV catalog 1894 days after the CVE record was published.KEV lag = CISA-KEV dateAdded − CVE.org datePublished; a floor on how long the known-exploited flaw sat in the public record before the federal catalog listed it. Severity/weakness here is CNA- or CISA-assigned (current at disclosure), independent of NVD's analysis backlog.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I craft a malicious website containing specially formed XML that triggers improper memory handling in MSXML.
Business
An attacker gains reconnaissance capability to map the target's file system without authentication.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I host the malicious page and wait for victims to visit it in a browser with MSXML installed.
Business
Passive infection vector requires no user interaction beyond normal browsing behavior.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I observe timing or error responses to determine which files exist on the victim's system.
Business
Sensitive file paths and system configuration become visible to the attacker, enabling targeted follow-up attacks.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05