How severe is CVE-2022-39197?

CVE-2022-39197 has a CVSS score of 6.1/10, rated MEDIUM. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2022-39197?

Affected package information for CVE-2022-39197 is not yet fully mapped. Check the official advisory links for details.

How do I fix CVE-2022-39197?

No fixed release is recorded for CVE-2022-39197 yet. Track the upstream advisory, and apply the exposure-reduction steps below in the meantime.

How do I detect CVE-2022-39197 in my code and dependencies?

Identify every host running the affected component and compare the installed build against the fixed version below — for source-built or distro-packaged software the version string, not a lockfile, is the source of truth (`dpkg -l`, `rpm -q`, or the binary's own `--version`).

How do I mitigate CVE-2022-39197 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Escape or sanitise the affected output on the server side rather than relying on client-side filtering, and add a Content-Security-Policy that blocks inline script execution so injected markup cannot run even if it reaches the page.

Is CVE-2022-39197 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 24 known exploit references for CVE-2022-39197, including 13 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2022-39197?

CVE-2022-39197 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 46.4%, placing it in the 99th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score warrants monitoring and prompt remediation.

Is CVE-2022-39197 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2022-39197 (Fortra Cobalt Strike Teamserver Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2023-03-30. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2023-04-20. The required action was: Apply updates per vendor instructions. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2022-39197?

CVE-2022-39197 is classified as Cross-site Scripting (XSS) (CWE-79). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

When was CVE-2022-39197 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2022-39197 was published on September 22, 2022 and was last updated on October 21, 2025. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🛡️

CISA KEV · ACTIVELY EXPLOITED

MEDIUM severity

CVE-2022-39197

MEDIUM

CVE-2022-39197 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.1) Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability. It is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2023-03-30) — treat it as actively exploited and patch now. No vendor fix is recorded yet; mitigation options are listed below.

An XSS (Cross Site Scripting) vulnerability was found in HelpSystems Cobalt Strike through 4.7 that allowed a remote attacker to execute HTML on the Cobalt Strike teamserver. To exploit…

Published

Sep 22, 2022

Updated

Oct 21, 2025

Affected

1 product

Patched

See advisory

Exploits

24 known

Exploitation data as of Oct 23, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

Actively exploited in the wild

Confirmed by CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2023-03-30. Federal agencies were required to remediate by 2023-04-20.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA (KEV catalog and SSVC triage) for CVE-2022-39197.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

46.4%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

High Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs99th percentile — riskier than 99% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2022-39197 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 395,249 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 10–50% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Description

An XSS (Cross Site Scripting) vulnerability was found in HelpSystems Cobalt Strike through 4.7 that allowed a remote attacker to execute HTML on the Cobalt Strike teamserver. To exploit the vulnerability, one must first inspect a Cobalt Strike payload, and then modify the username field in the payload (or create a new payload with the extracted information and then modify that username field to be malformed).

Affected Products

1 product · 1 configurations

Application

cobalt strikehelpsystems

< 4.7.1

range

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.