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ExploitedIn CISA KEVFix available

CVE-2023-40044

Exploitation confirmed. First attested on 2023-10-05 by CISA-ADP, CISA KEV, GCVE · kevintel, GCVE · shadowserver.

  • Published2023-09-27
  • Fixed in8.8.2 · 8.7.4
  • WeaknessCWE-502

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

In WS_FTP Server versions prior to 8.7.4 and 8.8.2, a pre-authenticated attacker could leverage a .NET deserialization vulnerability in the Ad Hoc Transfer module to execute remote commands on the underlying WS_FTP Server operating system.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2023-09-2715:18CVE publishedNVD
  2. 2023-10-05Added to the CISA KEV catalogCISA KEV
  3. 2023-10-05Listed as exploited by GCVEGCVE
  4. 2023-10-05Exploitation first reportedCISA KEV
  5. 2025-02-0316:29SSVC exploitation set to activeCISA-ADP

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-11-04 09:37 UTC
Indicators tagged with this CVE, per day0 indicators over 7 days
Block these indicators
  • Firewall list (EDL, text): https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2023-40044?format=txt
  • CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2023-40044?format=csv
  • TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
  • The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

NVD
Progress ws ftp server
BranchAffectedFixed in
8.8≥ 8.8, < 8.8.28.8.2
8.7< 8.7.48.7.4

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Products declared by the CNA1 product

As ProgressSoftware, the CNA that assigned this CVE, declared them in the CVE record; versions as written.

  • Progress Software Corporation WS_FTP Serverother versions: affected
    Affected
    • ≥ 8.8.0, < 8.8.2fixed in 8.8.2semver
    • ≥ 8.7.0, < 8.7.4fixed in 8.7.4semver

Source: the CNA record (CVE Program), © The MITRE Corporation,CVE Terms of UseCVE recordupdated 2023-10-04

Fix

  1. Update Progress ws ftp server to 8.8.2 · 8.7.4
  2. CISA’s required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.due 2023-10-26

Advisories and patches

Detection

read 2026-11-03 22:42 UTC
Nuclei template
available
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
no entry
Exploit-DB
Proof-of-concept repositories
1 repository, unverifiedkenbuckler/WS_FTP-CVE-2023-40044
PoC-in-GitHub
Metasploit modules
1 moduleexploit/windows/http/ws_ftp_rce_cve_2023_40044rank: excellentModule metadata: Metasploit Framework, © Rapid7, Inc., BSD-3-Clause.
Metasploit Framework

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability

Date Added
2023-10-05
Patch Due Date
2023-10-26
Ransomware Use
Known
Required Action
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Sources

Identifiers

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published
2023-09-27
Last Modified
2026-06-17
NVD status
Analyzed
GitHub Advisory
GHSA-29vf-j74g-gmfc

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2023-40044?

In WS_FTP Server versions prior to 8.7.4 and 8.8.2, a pre-authenticated attacker could leverage a .NET deserialization vulnerability in the Ad Hoc Transfer module to execute remote commands on the underlying WS_FTP Server operating system.

Is CVE-2023-40044 actively exploited?

Yes. CVE-2023-40044 is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, meaning it has been confirmed as actively exploited in the wild. CISA requires federal agencies to patch by 2023-10-26.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2023-40044?

CVE-2023-40044 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.8 (HIGH severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

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