CVE-2022-23597: Element Desktop

High severity, CVSS 8.8. EPSS: 1.5% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Element Desktop is a Matrix client for desktop platforms with Element Web at its core. Element Desktop before 1.9.7 is vulnerable to a remote program execution bug with user interaction. The exploit is non-trivial and requires clicking on a malicious link, followed by another button click. To the best of our knowledge, the vulnerability has never been exploited in the wild. If you are using Element Desktop < 1.9.7, we recommend upgrading at your earliest convenience. If successfully exploited, the vulnerability allows an attacker to specify a file path of a binary on the victim's computer which then gets executed. Notably, the attacker does *not* have the ability to specify program arguments. However, in certain unspecified configurations, the attacker may be able to specify an URI instead of a file path which then gets handled using standard platform mechanisms. These may allow exploiting further vulnerabilities in those mechanisms, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution.

Affected products

• Element Desktop: before 1.9.7 (fixed in 1.9.7)

Published 2022-02-01. Last modified 2026-06-17.