CVE-2017-8543
CRITICALCISA KEVEPSS 99th pctlDescription
Microsoft Windows XP SP3, Windows XP x64 XP2, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista, Windows 7 SP1, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1, Windows Server 2012 and R2, Windows 10 Gold, 1511, 1607, and 1703, and Windows Server 2016 allow an attacker to take control of the affected system when Windows Search fails to handle objects in memory, aka "Windows Search Remote Code Execution Vulnerability".
How to fix
Actively exploited, no published fix found yet
CISA required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Federal remediation due: 2022-06-14
Mitigation guidance may be in the linked vendor advisories in the References section below.
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CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Exploit Intelligence
Very high risk: more likely to be exploited than 99% of all known CVEs.
Microsoft Windows Search Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Microsoft Windows allows an attacker to take control of the affected system when Windows Search fails to handle objects in memory.
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Remediation due: 2022-06-14
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-281 vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2019-0233 | High | 7.5 | 68% | - | - |
| CVE-2017-8589 | Critical | 9.8 | 26% | - | - |
| CVE-2021-33990 | Critical | 9.8 | 12% | - | - |
| CVE-2017-8563 | High | 8.1 | 7.2% | - | - |
| CVE-2017-8578 | High | 7.8 | 6.5% | - | - |
| CVE-2021-32465 | High | 8.8 | 4.3% | - | - |
Common questions
How do I fix CVE-2017-8543?
No published fix for CVE-2017-8543 has been found yet. It is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list; federal agencies must remediate by 2022-06-14. Apply the vendor's mitigations per CISA's guidance.
Is CVE-2017-8543 being actively exploited?
Yes. CVE-2017-8543 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation has been observed in the wild. US federal agencies were required to remediate it by 2022-06-14. Treat it as a priority whatever its CVSS score says.
How severe is CVE-2017-8543?
CVE-2017-8543 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8, rated critical. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.
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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2026-04-22.