CVE-2021-40444: Microsoft MSHTML Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Is it exploited?

Yes. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 3 Nov 2021, 49 days after the CVE record was published.

How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?

97.8%

EPSS score, percentile 99.9 of all scored records

How severe?

8.8 High

CVSS v3.1 base score, given by the CNA

What should I do?

CISA deadline 17 Nov 2021. Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Advisories and patches (1)

Which versions are affected?

Affected

• from 10.0.10240.0 to before 10.0.10240.19060
• from 10.0.14393.0 to before 10.0.14393.4651
• from 10.0.17763.0 to before 10.0.17763.2183
• from 10.0.0 to before 10.0.17763.2183
• from 10.0.0 to before 10.0.18363.1801
• from 10.0.0 to before 10.0.19041.1237

and 14 more in the table below

Versions by product

Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.

What to do

CISA due date for this action: 17 November 2021.

Advisories and patches

• Microsoft MSHTML Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (Vendor advisory, Patch)

Linked from CISA's catalog entry

• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-40444

Affected products and versions

As listed in the CVE record.

Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.

About this vulnerability

Microsoft MSHTML contains a unspecified vulnerability that allows for remote code execution.

Summary: CISA's KEV catalog, as of 28 Oct 2026.

• CISA added CVE-2021-40444 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 3 Nov 2021.
• CISA marks it as known to be used in ransomware campaigns.
• The due date CISA sets for the required action is 17 Nov 2021.
• The CVE record was published on 15 Sep 2021, 49 days before it was added to KEV.
• The CVE record carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.8 (High), given by its CNA.
• FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 97.8% (percentile 99.9), as of 28 Oct 2026.
• CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record: exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact total.

Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.

Description

Microsoft MSHTML Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Microsoft is investigating reports of a remote code execution vulnerability in MSHTML that affects Microsoft Windows. Microsoft is aware of targeted attacks that attempt to exploit this vulnerability by using specially-crafted Microsoft Office documents. An attacker could craft a malicious ActiveX control to be used by a Microsoft Office document that hosts the browser rendering engine. The attacker would then have to convince the user to open the malicious document. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights. Microsoft Defender Antivirus and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint both provide detection and protections for the known vulnerability. Customers should keep antimalware products up to date. Customers who utilize automatic updates do not need to take additional action. Enterprise customers who manage updates should select the detection build 1.349.22.0 or newer and deploy it across their environments. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint alerts will be displayed as: “Suspicious Cpl File Execution”. Upon completion of this investigation, Microsoft will take the appropriate action to help protect our customers. This may include providing a security update through our monthly release process or providing an out-of-cycle security update, depending on customer needs. Please see the Mitigations and Workaround sections for important information about steps you can take to protect your system from this vulnerability. UPDATE September 14, 2021: Microsoft has released security updates to address this vulnerability. Please see the Security Updates table for the applicable update for your system. We recommend that you install these updates immediately. Please see the FAQ for important information about which updates are applicable to your system.

Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.

Weakness

• CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

CWE and CAPEC are maintained by MITRE; the entries are those named in the CVE record and the KEV entry.

Timeline

More exploited Microsoft vulnerabilities

• CVE-2026-96951: Microsoft Windows Command Injection Vulnerability (added 13 Oct 2026)
• CVE-2026-65660: Microsoft SharePoint Code Injection Vulnerability (added 25 Sep 2026)
• CVE-2026-81963: Microsoft Windows Link Following Vulnerability (added 8 Sep 2026)
• CVE-2026-85880: Microsoft Windows Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability (added 8 Sep 2026)
• CVE-2019-1068: Microsoft SQL Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (added 26 Aug 2026)
• CVE-2026-33824: Microsoft Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Service Extensions Double Free Vulnerability (added 18 Aug 2026)