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CVE-2023-36025 is a Microsoft Windows Defender SmartScreen security feature bypass vulnerability affecting the handling of Internet Shortcut (.url) files. The flaw stems from insufficient checks and missing warning prompts when Windows processes specially crafted .url content, allowing SmartScreen protections to be bypassed. Reported exploitation chains used malicious .url files, or hyperlinks pointing to them, to retrieve and launch follow-on payloads from remote locations such as SMB or WebDAV shares and archives, without presenting the expected SmartScreen warnings to the user. The vulnerability has been used in the wild to facilitate malware delivery, including DarkGate, Phemedrone Stealer, NetSupport RAT, and Mispadu.
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2 valid exploits after Mallory filtered fakes, detection scripts, and README-only repos.
This repository provides an exploit for CVE-2023-36025, a Windows SmartScreen Security Feature Bypass vulnerability. The main exploit is implemented in 'CVE-2023-36025.vbs', a VBScript file that launches a Python-based reverse shell. The script, when executed on a vulnerable Windows system, connects back to a specified attacker's IP address and TCP port (default: 172.27.136.131:8888), providing the attacker with a remote shell. The repository also includes a .url shortcut file pointing to the VBScript, and a README with usage instructions. The exploit requires the attacker to set up a reverse TCP handler (such as Metasploit's multi/handler) to receive the shell. The payload is operational and provides remote command execution on the target system. The repository is small, with three files: the exploit script, a shortcut, and documentation.
This repository is a proof-of-concept (PoC) for CVE-2023-36025, a vulnerability affecting Microsoft Windows. The repository contains a README describing the exploit and a .url file (testing.url) that references a script inside a ZIP archive via a file:// URL. The exploit demonstrates how a specially crafted .url file can be used to trigger the vulnerability when the referenced ZIP file is hosted on a server accessible to the victim. There is no executable code; the exploit relies on the victim opening the .url file, which then attempts to access and potentially execute a script from within the ZIP file. The repository is minimal and intended for demonstration and testing purposes only.
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19 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
A Windows SmartScreen bypass vulnerability involving .url shortcut exploits, referenced here as part of an earlier campaign linked to the same infrastructure/operator.
Possible exploitation of CVE-2023-36025 in a Windows attack simulation dataset.
A Windows SmartScreen bypass vulnerability (CVE-2023-36025) referenced as an exploitation vector used to facilitate delivery/execution of NetSupport RAT via social engineering and drive-by style infection chains.
Previously exploited vulnerability referenced as potentially related to CVE-2024-38213; noted as exploited by DarkGate operators in the past.
Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.
Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.
Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.