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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 1 Aug 2023.
Windows 10 1507Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2023-32046

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-07-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.10240.20048 / 10.0.14393.6085 or later.
See remediation →
97/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild No privileges Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Windows MSHTML Platform Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

This is a Windows Elevation of Privilege vulnerability in the MSHTML Platform (the rendering engine used by Internet Explorer and embedded web content in Windows). The vulnerability allows an attacker to gain higher privileges on the affected system, typically through malicious web content or specially crafted documents that exploit the MSHTML renderer.

MitigationApply the relevant Microsoft security update for CVE-2023-32046 as soon as possible, typically through Windows Update or by deploying the standalone patch from Microsoft Update Catalog.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Windows 10 1507Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.10240.20048
Windows 10 1607Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.14393.6085
Windows 10 1809Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.4645
Windows 10 21h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19041.3208
Windows 10 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19045.3208
Windows 11 21h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22000.2176
Windows 11 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22621.1992
Windows Server 2008Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Windows version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to get the exact Windows version build number
    Affected if The build number falls below the patched versions: 10240.20048 (1507), 14393.6085 (1607), 17763.4645 (1809), 19041.3208 (21h2), 19045.3208 (22h2), 22000.2176 (Win11 21h2), 22621.1992 (Win11 22h2), or is Windows Server 2008 R2 (all versions)
  2. Confirm MSHTML component presence
    Check if mshtml.dll exists at %SystemRoot%\System32\mshtml.dll or check for IE or MSHTML in installed Windows Features
    Affected if The MSHTML component (mshtml.dll) is installed on the system, as this is the vulnerable component
  3. Verify Internet Explorer feature status
    Check the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer for the Version value, or check if Internet Explorer is listed in Windows Features
    Affected if Internet Explorer (which uses MSHTML/Trident) is enabled or present on the system
  4. Check mshtml.dll file version
    Right-click mshtml.dll in %SystemRoot%\System32\, select Properties, then Details to view the File Version, or run 'dir %SystemRoot%\System32\mshtml.dll' to see the file
    Affected if The file version of mshtml.dll is lower than the patched version for your Windows build (patched versions contain the security fix for this CVE)

A system is affected if it runs a Windows version with a build number below the patched thresholds listed above AND has the MSHTML component (mshtml.dll) present on the system.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 10.0.10240.20048 / 10.0.14393.6085 / 10.0.17763.4645 or later
Fixed in 10.0.10240.2004810.0.14393.608510.0.17763.4645
Vendor patch msrc.microsoft.com →
Interim mitigation

Apply the relevant Microsoft security update for CVE-2023-32046 as soon as possible, typically through Windows Update or by deploying the standalone patch from Microsoft Update Catalog.

Recommended fix High confidence

Install the applicable September 2023 or later Windows Security Update (KB) for your specific Windows version - fixed versions include: Windows 10 1507 (10.0.10240.20048), Windows 10 1607 (10.0.14393.6085), Windows 10 1809 (10.0.17763.4645), Windows 10 21h2 (10.0.19041.3208), Windows 10 22h2 (10.0.1

  1. Identify the current Windows version by running 'winver' or 'systeminfo' in Command Prompt
  2. Determine which Windows 10 or 11 release (1507, 1607, 1809, 21h2, 22h2) or Windows Server 2008 is installed
  3. Open Windows Update (Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update)
  4. Click 'Check for updates' and install all available security updates
  5. Alternatively, manually download and install the specific KB update for this CVE from the Microsoft Update Catalog: https://catalog.update.microsoft.com/
  6. Restart the system after updates are installed
  7. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed version for your release (e.g., Windows 10 22h2 should be >= 10.0.19045.3208)
Caveat None expected - this is a routine security update; ensure backups before applying any system updates

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Windows 10 1507 Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-32046 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-32046 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data