Full Report
Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed details of four security flaws in Microsoft Teams that could have exposed users to serious impersonation and social engineering attacks. The vulnerabilities "allowed attackers to manipulate conversations, impersonate colleagues, and exploit notifications," Check Point said in a report shared with The Hacker News. Following responsible disclosure in March
Analysis Summary
# Vulnerability: Microsoft Teams Impersonation and Message Manipulation Flaws
## CVE Details
- CVE ID: CVE-2024-38197 (This is the only specific CVE mentioned, others are implied group of flaws.)
- CVSS Score: 6.5 (Medium)
- CWE: Spoofing (Implied by the description of CVE-2024-38197)
## Affected Systems
- Products: Microsoft Teams
- Versions: Teams for iOS (specifically noted for CVE-2024-38197). The context implies broader impact across Teams functionality affecting internal and guest users affected by the group of four flaws.
- Configurations: Affects users interacting via chat, calls, and notifications within the Teams client.
## Vulnerability Description
Check Point researchers disclosed four related security flaws that severely undermined trust in Microsoft Teams interactions. The primary issues allowed attackers to:
1. **Message Manipulation:** Alter message content without triggering the "Edited" label or altering the sender identity.
2. **Notification Spoofing:** Modify incoming notifications to change the displayed sender, tricking users into viewing messages as originating from trusted sources (including C-suite executives).
3. **Display Name Spoofing:** Change display names in private chat conversations by modifying the conversation topic.
4. **Call Identity Spoofing:** Arbitrarily modify display names shown in call notifications and during active calls, forging caller identities.
These cumulative flaws enable severe social engineering, leading victims to click malicious links or share sensitive data based on forged communication.
## Exploitation
- Status: PoC available (The researchers demonstrated exploitation capabilities; disclosure implies testing/reproduction was successful).
- Complexity: Implied to be achievable by external guest users or internal malicious actors.
- Attack Vector: Likely Network/Application-based attack leveraging client-side input handling or API manipulation.
## Impact
- Confidentiality: High (Potential for sensitive data disclosure via successful social engineering).
- Integrity: High (Ability to alter message content without trace and forge source identity).
- Availability: Low (No direct impact on service uptime, but trust erosion impacts productivity).
## Remediation
### Patches
- Microsoft addressed some issues in August 2024 (related to CVE-2024-38197).
- Subsequent patches were rolled out in September 2024 and October 2025.
*Note: Specific patch builds/versions are not detailed in the source text.*
### Workarounds
- No specific workarounds were mentioned in the provided text. Researchers emphasize verification over blind trust.
## Detection
- Indicators of Compromise: Detection would rely on anomaly detection within Teams API usage or client logs showing unusual message updates or notification source changes.
- Detection methods and tools: Security tools must be adapted to verify content integrity and sender identity outside the native Teams UI trust mechanism, focusing on conversation metadata validation.
## References
- Vendor Advisory: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2024-38197 (Defanged Link)
- Check Point Research: https://blog.checkpoint.com/research/exploiting-trust-in-collaboration-microsoft-teams-vulnerabilities-uncovered/ (Defanged Link)
- Check Point Research: https://research.checkpoint.com/2025/microsoft-teams-impersonation-and-spoofing-vulnerabilities-exposed/ (Defanged Link)