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Fencer Vulns
high 8.8

CVE-2021-43844 json

Externally Controlled Reference to a Resource in Another Sphere in MSEdgeRedirect

published 2021-12-20 4 y ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also EUVD-2021-30715

cvss
8.8
version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
3.4%
EPSS 3.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 89%
public exploits
0
none known

Summary

MSEdgeRedirect is a tool to redirect news, search, widgets, weather, and more to a user's default browser. MSEdgeRedirect versions before 0.5.0.1 are vulnerable to Remote Code Execution via specifically crafted URLs. This vulnerability requires user interaction and the acceptance of a prompt. With how MSEdgeRedirect is coded, parameters are impossible to pass to any launched file. However, there are two possible scenarios in which an attacker can do more than a minor annoyance. In Scenario 1 (confirmed), a user visits an attacker controlled webpage; the user is prompted with, and downloads, an executable payload; the user is prompted with, and accepts, the aforementioned crafted URL prompt; and RCE executes the payload the user previously downloaded, if the download path is successfully guessed. In Scenario 2 (not yet confirmed), a user visits an attacked controlled webpage; the user is prompted with, and accepts, the aforementioned crafted URL prompt; and a payload on a remote, attacker controlled, SMB server is executed. The issue was found in the _DecodeAndRun() function, in which I incorrectly assumed _WinAPI_UrlIs() would only accept web resources. Unfortunately, file:/// passes the default _WinAPI_UrlIs check(). File paths are now directly checked for and must fail. There is no currently known exploitation of this vulnerability in the wild. A patched version, 0.5.0.1, has been released that checks for and denies these crafted URLs. There are no workarounds for this issue. Users are advised not to accept any unexpected prompts from web pages.

Patch / fix

  • msedgeredirect_project msedgeredirect 0.5.0.1

Exploit prediction

3.44% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 89% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

Exploits and checks

  • github.com https://github.com/rcmaehl/MSEdgeRedirect/security/advisories/GHSA-95v4-748v-fmf9 referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
CNA 3.1 8.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD 2.0 9.3 AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Affected products

  • rcmaehl MSEdgeRedirect

Classification

Weakness
  • CWE-610 Externally Controlled Reference to a Resource in Another Sphere

References

Sources

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.