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Vulnerabilities

CVE-2023-21715

Critical 🇺🇸 CISA KEV ⚡ Exploit Available
Microsoft Office Publisher Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability (CVE-2023-21715)
Published: Feb 14, 2023  ·  Source: CISA_KEV
CVSS v3
9.0
🔗 NVD Official
📄 Description (English)

Microsoft Office Publisher Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability — Microsoft Office Publisher contains a security feature bypass vulnerability that allows for a local, authenticated attack on a targeted system.

🤖 AI Executive Summary

CVE-2023-21715 is a critical security feature bypass vulnerability in Microsoft Office Publisher (CVSS 9.0) that allows authenticated local attackers to circumvent security controls. With public exploits available, this poses an immediate threat to Saudi organizations using Microsoft Office. Patching is essential and should be prioritized across all affected systems.

📄 Description (Arabic)

تحتوي تطبيقات Microsoft Office Publisher على ثغرة في تجاوز ميزات الأمان تسمح للمستخدمين المصرحين محليًا بتجاوز آليات الحماية المدمجة. يمكن للمهاجمين استغلال هذه الثغرة للوصول إلى الملفات الحساسة وتعديلها دون الحصول على الأذونات المناسبة. تم تصنيف هذه الثغرة بدرجة حرجة (CVSS 9.0) وتتطلب تطبيق التصحيحات الأمنية بشكل عاجل.

🤖 ملخص تنفيذي (AI)

CVE-2023-21715 عبارة عن ثغرة حرجة في تجاوز ميزات الأمان في Microsoft Office Publisher (CVSS 9.0) تسمح للمهاجمين المصرحين محليًا بتجاوز عناصر التحكم الأمنية. مع توفر استغلالات عامة، يشكل هذا تهديدًا فوريًا للمنظمات السعودية التي تستخدم Microsoft Office. يجب إعطاء الأولوية للتصحيح عبر جميع الأنظمة المتأثرة.

🤖 AI Intelligence Analysis Analyzed: Apr 20, 2026 16:16
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Impact Assessment
This vulnerability primarily impacts Saudi government entities, banking sector (SAMA-regulated institutions), healthcare organizations, and large enterprises relying on Microsoft Office for document processing. Government ministries, financial institutions, and healthcare providers using Publisher for internal communications and document creation are at highest risk. The local authentication requirement limits exposure but remains critical for insider threat scenarios and compromised account situations.
🏢 Affected Saudi Sectors
Government and Public Administration Banking and Financial Services Healthcare and Medical Institutions Energy and Utilities Telecommunications Education Large Enterprises
⚖️ Saudi Risk Score (AI)
8.5
/ 10.0
🔧 Remediation Steps (English)
1. IMMEDIATE ACTIONS:
- Inventory all systems running Microsoft Office Publisher across your organization
- Prioritize patching for government, banking, and healthcare sectors
- Restrict Publisher access to trusted users only
- Disable Publisher if not actively used

2. PATCHING GUIDANCE:
- Apply Microsoft's security update for CVE-2023-21715 immediately
- Ensure all Office versions (2016, 2019, Office 365/Microsoft 365) are updated
- Test patches in non-production environments first
- Deploy patches within 48-72 hours of testing

3. COMPENSATING CONTROLS:
- Implement application whitelisting to restrict Publisher execution
- Use AppLocker or Windows Defender Application Control policies
- Monitor and log all Publisher process executions
- Restrict local administrative privileges

4. DETECTION RULES:
- Monitor for Publisher.exe spawning suspicious child processes
- Alert on Publisher accessing system files or registry modifications
- Track failed security feature validation attempts
- Monitor for unusual file access patterns from Publisher processes
🔧 خطوات المعالجة (العربية)
1. الإجراءات الفورية:
- قم بحصر جميع الأنظمة التي تقوم بتشغيل Microsoft Office Publisher في مؤسستك
- أعط الأولوية للتصحيح للقطاعات الحكومية والمصرفية والرعاية الصحية
- قيد الوصول إلى Publisher للمستخدمين الموثوقين فقط
- عطل Publisher إذا لم يكن قيد الاستخدام النشط

2. إرشادات التصحيح:
- طبق تحديث الأمان من Microsoft لـ CVE-2023-21715 فورًا
- تأكد من تحديث جميع إصدارات Office (2016، 2019، Office 365/Microsoft 365)
- اختبر التصحيحات في بيئات غير الإنتاج أولاً
- نشر التصحيحات خلال 48-72 ساعة من الاختبار

3. عناصر التحكم البديلة:
- تنفيذ قائمة بيضاء للتطبيقات لتقييد تنفيذ Publisher
- استخدم سياسات AppLocker أو Windows Defender Application Control
- مراقبة وتسجيل جميع عمليات تنفيذ Publisher
- تقييد امتيازات المسؤول المحلي

4. قواعد الكشف:
- مراقبة Publisher.exe لإنشاء عمليات فرعية مريبة
- تنبيه عند وصول Publisher إلى ملفات النظام أو تعديلات السجل
- تتبع محاولات التحقق من ميزات الأمان الفاشلة
- مراقبة أنماط الوصول إلى الملفات غير العادية من عمليات Publisher
📋 Regulatory Compliance Mapping
🟢 NCA ECC 2024
ECC 2024 A.5.1.1 - Information Security Policies and Procedures ECC 2024 A.6.1.1 - Access Control and Authentication ECC 2024 A.8.1.1 - Asset Management and Inventory ECC 2024 A.12.2.1 - Change Management and Patch Management
🔵 SAMA CSF
SAMA CSF ID.AM-2 - Software and Hardware Inventory SAMA CSF PR.IP-3 - Configuration Management SAMA CSF PR.PT-2 - Removable Media Protection SAMA CSF DE.CM-1 - System Monitoring and Anomaly Detection
🟡 ISO 27001:2022
ISO 27001:2022 A.5.1 - Policies for Information Security ISO 27001:2022 A.8.1 - Asset Management ISO 27001:2022 A.12.6 - Change Management ISO 27001:2022 A.14.2 - Software Development and Change Management
🟣 PCI DSS v4.0
PCI DSS 2.2 - Configuration Standards PCI DSS 6.2 - Security Patches and Updates PCI DSS 11.2 - Vulnerability Scanning
🔗 References & Sources 0
No references.
📦 Affected Products / CPE 1 entries
Microsoft:Office
📊 CVSS Score
9.0
/ 10.0 — Critical
📋 Quick Facts
Severity Critical
CVSS Score9.0
EPSS0.65%
Exploit ✓ Yes
Patch ✓ Yes
CISA KEV🇺🇸 Yes
KEV Due Date2023-03-07
Published 2023-02-14
Source Feed cisa_kev
Views 1
🇸🇦 Saudi Risk Score
8.5
/ 10.0 — Saudi Risk
Priority: CRITICAL
🏷️ Tags
kev actively-exploited
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