Threat Spotlight: Group 72, Opening the ZxShell
ZxShell has been observed to be distributed through phishing attacks, dropped by exploits that leverage vulnerabilities such as CVE-2011-2462, CVE-2013-3163, and CVE-2014-0322.
CVE-2014-0322 KEVPublic exploitEnd of life High · 8.8 EPSS 85.1%
Microsoft Internet Explorer Use-After-Free Vulnerability
Microsoft · Internet Explorer
End of lifeInternet Explorer reached End of lifeThe vendor no longer ships security fixes. Remove or isolate the product instead of waiting for a patch. on 15 Jun 2022. No patch is coming: remove or isolate it.
Summary
Sentence 1: Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 and 10 contain a use-after-free flaw in the browser's markup handling, involving CMarkup and the onpropertychange attribute of script elements. Sentence 2: A remote attacker can execute arbitrary code by getting a user to load a page containing crafted JavaScript, with no authentication required but user interaction needed to trigger it.
Official description · NVD
Use-after-free vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 and 10 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via vectors involving crafted JavaScript code, CMarkup, and the onpropertychange attribute of a script element, as exploited in the wild in January and February 2014.
Priority scorePatchfirst’s 0 to 100 ranking. It adds points for CISA KEV listing, ransomware use, EPSS, threat reports, public exploit code and CVSS. Every CVE page shows the breakdown. Breakdown
61.8 / 100
- Exploited
- Yes, in CISA KEV
- Reports
- 3
- Tactics
- 2/15
How an attack unfolds
Based on MITRE ATT&CKA public catalogue of the techniques attackers use, maintained by MITRE. Patchfirst uses it to describe what attackers do with a vulnerability. mappings. Select a step to see the evidence.Exploitation timelineDated milestones for a CVE: when it was disclosed, when exploit code became public, when exploitation was confirmed, and when threat reports named it.
First seen exploited the day it was disclosed. Public exploit code (Metasploit) was available 1 day before disclosure.
- Public exploit codeMetasploit1 day before
- Named in a threat reportblogs.cisco.com+8 mo
- Added to CISA KEVEU database agrees+8 yrs
CISA KEV listing is when exploitation was confirmed, not necessarily the first attack.
MITRE ATT&CKA public catalogue of the techniques attackers use, maintained by MITRE. Patchfirst uses it to describe what attackers do with a vulnerability. techniques
2 TechniqueOne specific attacker behaviour in MITRE ATT&CK, such as T1190 “Exploit Public-Facing Application”. IDs with a dot, like T1059.004, are sub-techniques., grouped by TacticThe attacker’s goal at a stage of an attack in MITRE ATT&CK, such as Initial Access or Persistence. Each technique belongs to one or more tactics. in kill-chain order, 2 cited passages 2Initial AccessTA0001
Drive-by Compromise T1189 Medium Confidence (technique links)How sure Patchfirst is that an ATT&CK technique applies to this CVE. High and medium links are shown by default; low ones come from early or generic mappings, text matching, or contradict the CVE’s details.
AI mapping from the description · how it is exploited
drive-by via crafted JavaScript in browser
allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via vectors involving crafted JavaScript code
ExecutionTA0002
Command and Scripting Interpreter T1059 Medium Confidence (technique links)How sure Patchfirst is that an ATT&CK technique applies to this CVE. High and medium links are shown by default; low ones come from early or generic mappings, text matching, or contradict the CVE’s details.
AI mapping from the description · primary impact
arbitrary code execution achieved
allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code
Lower-confidence links (1)
These come from early or generic mappings, text matching, or contradict this CVE’s details (for example a public-facing technique on a bug that needs a user to open a file). Shown for completeness.
- Exploitation for Privilege EscalationT1068 CTID attack_to_cve Phase 1 "Uncategorized" mapping (not staged by impact)
Detection
0 rules for this CVE · 98 general rules for its techniquesRules for this CVE
0Sigma ruleAn open, vendor-neutral detection rule for log data. Security teams convert Sigma rules into searches for their own SIEM. that reference CVE-2014-0322 directly.CVE-specific rules are not available in this build. Search SigmaHQ ↗
General rules for this CVE’s techniques
These detect the technique in general, not this specific vulnerability.
Drive-by CompromiseT11893 general rules
Command and Scripting InterpreterT105995 general rules
- HackTool - Sliver C2 Implant Activity Patterncriticaltest
- Lazarus Group Activitycriticaltest
- REvil Kaseya Incident Malware Patternscriticaltest
- Turla Group Lateral Movementcriticaltest
- Windows Defender AMSI Trigger Detectedhighstable
- Windows Defender Threat Detectedhighstable
- Abusable DLL Potential Sideloading From Suspicious Locationhightest
- Add Insecure Download Source To Wingethightest
Sigma rules © SigmaHQ, Detection Rule License 1.1; linked, not reproduced.
What security researchers reported
Named in 3 threat reports3 reportsCiscos7d2.scene7.comMicrosoftOct 2014 · 2 undated
Reports are matched by finding the exact id CVE-2014-0322 in their text; nobody has reviewed the match. One passage is shown per report, at most 320 characters, linked to the original.
Operation Dust Storm
Mentions the CVE; no further detail.
2 passages name itOriginal (opens in a new tab) ↗
Microsoft Security
Mentions the CVE; no further detail.
Also mentioned in 50 community threat pulses (AlienVault OTX)
Weaker evidencePulses are indicator collections that anyone can publish. A mention is not confirmation of exploitation.
- Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 29, 202628 Oct 2026
- Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 28, 202627 Oct 2026
- Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 27, 202626 Oct 2026
- Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 24, 202623 Oct 2026
- Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 23, 202622 Oct 2026
- Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 22, 202621 Oct 2026
- 44 more on OTX