KEV Intelligence

Vulnerability report

Exploited in the wild Confirmed confidence In CISA KEV

CVE-2023-40044

WS_FTP Server Ad Hoc Transfer Module .NET Deserialization Vulnerability

Progress Software Corporation / WS_FTP Server · affected before 8.8.2

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Severity
CVSS 10.0 · Critical
Confidence
Confirmed
Exploit status
Exploited in the wild
EPSS
90.1%
First observed
—
Last observed
—

Decision summary

What security teams need to know first

Direct answers before the deeper technical record.

What it is

CVE-2023-40044 is an unauthenticated WS_FTP Server Ad Hoc Transfer Module .NET Deserialization Vulnerability. In WS_FTP Server versions prior to 8.7.4 and 8.8.2, a pre-authenticated attacker could leverage a .NET...

Is it exploited?

Yes. KEV Intelligence tracks this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability. Confidence is confirmed.

Who is affected?

Progress Software Corporation / WS_FTP Server affected before 8.8.2.

What should we do?

Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.

Overview

WS_FTP Server Ad Hoc Transfer Module .NET Deserialization Vulnerability

In WS_FTP Server versions prior to 8.7.4 and 8.8.2, a pre-authenticated attacker could leverage a .NET deserialization vulnerability in the Ad Hoc Transfer module to execute remote commands on the underlying WS_FTP Server operating system.

Vendor Product Affected Status
Progress Software Corporation WS_FTP Server Before 8.8.2 Affected
Progress Software Corporation WS_FTP Server Before 8.7.4 Affected
View vendor advisory (opens in new tab)
Published
27 Sep 2023
Exploitation Reported
05 Oct 2023
Attack vector
Remote
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None

Tags

metasploit malware ransomware cisa nuclei_scanner dotnet

CVE References

Exploitation evidence

Why KEV Intelligence marks this CVE as exploited

Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.

Exploited in the wild

CISA

Recorded 05 Oct 2023

Independent exploitation attestation added to the KEV Intelligence record.

Used in malware

CISA

Recorded 05 Oct 2023

Malware families have been linked to exploitation of this CVE.

Proof of concept available

Nuclei Templates

Recorded 28 Apr 2025

Public scanner or PoC coverage increases practical exploitability.

Known exploited vulnerability sources

Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the KEV Intelligence Pro API.

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Source Added
CISA First 2023-10-05 00:00 UTC

Detection

Operational artifacts and observed signals

Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.

Observed signals

Request targets
0
User-Agents
0

Raw values available in Pro and Enterprise.

Virtual patch status

No KEV Intelligence virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.

Learn about virtual patches →

Scanner Artifacts

Scanner and exploit-framework references linked to this CVE.

Scanner Reference Detected
Nuclei https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2023/CVE-2023-40044.yaml 01 Jun 2026
Metasploit https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/windows/http/ws_ftp_rce_cve_2023_40044.rb 28 Apr 2025

Risk and context

Severity, weaknesses, and research context

CVSS v3.1

10.0 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS

90.1%

Weaknesses

Deserialization of Untrusted Data CWE-502

Potential Proof of Concepts

These PoCs are unverified and could contain malware. Use at your own risk.

WS_FTP Server - Insecure Deserialization

nuclei · Created Unknown

ws_ftp_rce_cve_2023_40044

metasploit · Created Unknown

Metasploit module for CVE-2023-40044

Timeline

From disclosure to observed exploitation

  1. Nuclei template available

    Scanner coverage available

  2. Metasploit module available

    Exploit module available

  3. Public PoC available

    Public proof-of-concept code published

  4. Added to CISA KEV

    Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

  5. First public exploitation report

    Exploit observed in malware

  6. CVE published

    Vulnerability disclosed publicly

  7. CVE ID reserved

    Identifier reserved by the CNA

Pro API

Automate this intelligence

Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.

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  • Evidence confidence and provenance
  • First-party sensor telemetry
  • PoC and scanner references
  • Affected versions and enrichment
  • Automation-ready JSON delivery

GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2023-40044

Free JSON includes basic KEV fields 
{
  "cve_id": "CVE-2023-40044",
  "confidence": "Confirmed",
  "cvss_score": 10.0,
  "cvss_estimated": false,
  "epss_score": 0.9015,
  "exploit_status": {
    "exploited_in_the_wild": true,
    "active_exploitation_observed": false
  },
  "sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}

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