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Windows 10Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2022-21865

HIGH · 7.0 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 →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Connected Devices Platform Service 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 a Windows elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Connected Devices Platform Service (cdpusersvc). The flaw allows a local attacker to gain elevated privileges on the affected system. This is a local privilege escalation vulnerability, not remote code execution.

MitigationApply the appropriate Microsoft security update for CVE-2022-21865, typically delivered 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:= 20h2= 21h1= 21h2= 1809= 1909
Windows ServerOperating system
Affected:= 20h2= 2022
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
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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. Check Windows 10 version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to identify the Windows 10 build. Compare the build number against 17763 (1809), 18363 (1909), 19042 (20h2), 19043 (21h1), and 19044 (21h2).
    Affected if The system runs Windows 10 version 1809, 1909, 20h2, 21h1, or 21h2.
  2. Check Windows Server version
    Run 'systeminfo' or 'winver' to identify the Windows Server build. Compare against build 19042 (Server 20h2), 20348 (Server 2022), or 14393 (Server 2016).
    Affected if The system runs Windows Server 2016 (any version), Server 20h2, or Server 2022.
  3. Verify cdpusersvc service presence
    Run 'sc query cdpusersvc' to check if the Connected Devices Platform Service exists on the system.
    Affected if The cdpusersvc service is present and installed on the system.
  4. Confirm current patch state
    Run 'powershell "Get-HotFix -Id 'KB5001402' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue"' or check Windows Update history for the January 2022 security updates which address this vulnerability.
    Affected if The system is missing the January 2022 security updates for this vulnerability.

A system is affected if it runs any of the specified Windows 10 or Windows Server versions listed and lacks the corresponding security update.

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 the appropriate Microsoft security update for CVE-2022-21865, typically delivered through Windows Update or manual patch deployment.

Recommended fix High confidence

January 2022 Security Updates for Windows (apply the relevant patch for your specific Windows version)

  1. Open Windows Update on the affected Windows system
  2. Check for and install the January 2022 Security Updates (or later)
  3. Alternatively, download and install the specific security update for CVE-2022-21865 from the Microsoft Update Catalog
  4. Restart the system as required to complete the installation
  5. Verify the update is installed by checking Windows Update history

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

Fix this in Windows 10 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2022-21865 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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