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Windows 10Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2022-21835

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-01-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Microsoft Cryptographic Services Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

This is an Elevation of Privilege vulnerability in Microsoft Cryptographic Services, allowing an authenticated attacker to gain higher privileges on the affected system.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for CVE-2022-21835 through Windows Update or manual patch deployment.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Windows 10Operating system
Affected:all versions= 20h2= 21h1= 21h2= 1607= 1809= 1909
Windows 11Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 7Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows ServerOperating system
Affected:= 20h2= 2022
Windows Server 2008Operating system
Affected:= r2
Windows Server 2012Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2
Windows Server 2016Operating system
Affected:all versions

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Windows version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to determine the exact Windows version and build number
    Affected if The version matches any of the listed affected versions (Windows 10 20h2/21h1/21h2/1607/1809/1909, Windows 11, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 20h2/2022/2008 R2/2012/2012 R2/2016)
  2. Confirm the system is Windows
    Run 'systeminfo' and verify the "OS Name" field begins with Microsoft Windows
    Affected if The system runs any Windows operating system listed in the affected products
  3. Check for security update installation
    Run 'powershell Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.Description -eq "Security Update"}' and review installed security patches
    Affected if The system lacks the January 2022 security updates or subsequent cumulative updates containing the CVE-2022-21835 patch
  4. Verify Cryptographic Services status
    Open Services console (services.msc) and locate "Cryptographic Services" to confirm the service exists and is running
    Affected if The Cryptographic Services service is present (vulnerability applies to all systems with this service, patch status determines exposure)

The environment is affected if the system runs any Windows version listed in the affected products AND has not installed the January 2022 or later security updates containing the CVE-2022-21835 patch.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates for CVE-2022-21835 through Windows Update or manual patch deployment.

Recommended fix High confidence

Windows 10 version 22H2 or later; Windows 11 latest version; Windows Server 2022; or migrate from end-of-life systems (Windows 7, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012) to supported Windows Server versions

  1. 1. Identify all affected systems running Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows 8.1, Windows 7, or affected Windows Server versions
  2. 2. For Windows 10 systems: Upgrade to Windows 10 version 22H2 (or later) which receives security updates
  3. 3. For Windows 11 systems: Ensure Windows 11 is updated to the latest version via Windows Update
  4. 4. For Windows 8.1 systems: Upgrade to Windows 8.1 or migrate to a supported Windows version
  5. 5. For Windows 7 systems: Migrate to a supported operating system (Windows 10/11 or Windows Server 2016+) as Windows 7 is end-of-life and no longer receives security updates
  6. 6. For Windows Server 2008 R2: Migrate to a supported Windows Server version (2016 or later) as this version is end-of-life
  7. 7. For Windows Server 2012/2012 R2: Upgrade to Windows Server 2022 or the latest supported Windows Server version
  8. 8. For Windows Server 2016: Upgrade to Windows Server 2019 or 2022
Caveat Upgrading from Windows 7/8.1 to Windows 10/11 may require hardware compatibility checks and application compatibility testing; migrating from older Windows Server versions may require application and role reconfiguration

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Windows 10 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-21835 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data