Threats / Microsoft / CVE-2022-44698
CVE-2022-44698
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
Microsoft Defender vulnerability
Microsoft Defender SmartScreen security feature bypass allows attackers to evade Mark of the Web defenses using specially crafted malicious files.
Verdict
Today item, not a backlog item.
A security feature bypass in Microsoft Defender SmartScreen permits attackers to circumvent MOTW protections, enabling delivery of malicious files that would normally trigger warnings. This vulnerability has been exploited in ransomware campaigns.
CISA KEV Yes · 2022-12-135Ransomware use Flagged5EPSS 0.76267 (verify live)6CVSS 5.43CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Impact: partial4
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreReported exploitation
9 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 2022-12-13), flagged for known ransomware use.
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.76267 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 5.4 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L/E:F/RL:O/RC:C) · Affected: Microsoft, Defender. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CNA-assigned (CVE.org), version 3.1, set at disclosure.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-755 Improper Handling of Exceptions.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 the same day 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 file designed to bypass Mark of the Web detection mechanisms in SmartScreen.
Business
Security controls fail to identify and block the malicious file before user execution.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I deliver the crafted file to target users, bypassing email and web gateway protections that rely on MOTW indicators.
Business
Malware reaches end-user systems without standard security warnings or blocks.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I execute the payload on compromised systems to establish persistence and lateral movement.
Business
Ransomware operators gain network access and deploy encryption attacks across the organization.
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