# CVE-2023-33148: Microsoft Office Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

> Attackers can exploit a path traversal flaw in Microsoft Office to escalate privileges on affected systems.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 11 Jul 2023
- **Updated:** 28 Feb 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-cr38-7wwg-698r

## What is CVE-2023-33148?

CVE-2023-33148 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Microsoft 365 Apps, published on 11 Jul 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Microsoft Office Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-33148?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Microsoft 365 Apps, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office Long Term Servicing Channel.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-33148?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-33148 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-33148 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-33148 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Microsoft Office 365 Version 18.2305.1222.0 - Elevation of Privilege + RCE. (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Microsoft 365 Apps

- [CVE-2024-21413](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-21413/): Microsoft Outlook Improper Input Validation (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2023-23397](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-23397/): Microsoft Office Outlook Privilege Escalation (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2024-38189](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-38189/): Microsoft Project Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2023-35311](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-35311/): Microsoft Outlook Security Feature Bypass (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-21514](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-21514/): Microsoft Office Word Reliance on Untrusted Inputs in a Security Decision (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-33148 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-33148 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in Microsoft 365 Apps, published on 11 Jul 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2023-33148 exists.

Affected product: Microsoft 365 Apps. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-33148/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-33148/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-33148
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-33148
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-33148

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-33148/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.