Microsoft patches two actively exploited flaws
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Microsoft July 2024 updates address two CVEs confirmed exploited in the wild; immediate patching required.
On July 10, 2024, Microsoft released security patches addressing multiple vulnerabilities in Microsoft products. Two of these vulnerabilities—CVE-2024-38080 and CVE-2024-38112—have been confirmed by Microsoft as actively exploited in the wild. Exploitation of these flaws can result in application crashes or full system compromise, allowing attackers to take control of affected computers. IPA (Information-technology Promotion Agency, Japan) has issued an urgent alert recommending immediate application of Microsoft's patches to mitigate the risk of further attacks. Organizations running affected Microsoft products should prioritize deployment of these updates through Windows Update or equivalent patching mechanisms.
Mentioned in this report
Detection guidance
Internet Explorer Launched With MHTML URI Handler (CVE-2024-38112 Pattern)
iexplore.exe started with an mhtml: URI on the command line, the pattern used by internet-shortcut (.url) lures that abuse the MSHTML flaw CVE-2024-38112 to open attacker content in legacy IE. Auto-generated starting point — validate and tune in your environment before deploying. IOC matches can false-positive on shared infrastructure and decay as adversary infrastructure rotates.
title: Internet Explorer Launched With MHTML URI Handler (CVE-2024-38112 Pattern)
description: 'Detects iexplore.exe started with an mhtml: URI or the x-usc: trick
on the command line. This is the behaviour associated with .url shortcut lures abusing
the MSHTML spoofing flaw CVE-2024-38112, which forces legacy Internet Explorer to
open attacker-controlled content on modern Windows. Generalises on the launch pattern,
not on any specific URL.'
tags:
- attack.execution
- attack.t1203
- attack.initial-access
- attack.t1190
logsource:
category: process_creation
product: windows
detection:
selection_img:
Image|endswith: \iexplore.exe
selection_cmd:
CommandLine|contains:
- mhtml:http
- '!x-usc:'
condition: selection_img and selection_cmd
falsepositives:
- Legacy intranet applications or test tooling that intentionally open MHTML archives
in Internet Explorer
- Security researchers reproducing the vulnerability in a lab
level: medium
id: f912bc04-8c8d-545d-933b-7b23ca668271
status: experimental
author: Vorant
references:
- https://www.ipa.go.jp/security/security-alert/2024/0710-ms.html
Behavioural rules are generated from public reporting — validate in your environment before deploying.
Source reporting: https://www.ipa.go.jp/security/security-alert/2024/0710-ms.html
What this brief leaves out
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