dbcve.org
Windows 10Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2022-21867

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
Windows Push Notifications Apps 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 Windows Push Notifications Apps that allows an authenticated attacker to gain higher system privileges. The vulnerability stems from improper privilege handling within the push notifications component in Windows.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security update KB5009596 or subsequent patches via Windows Update to address this vulnerability in affected Windows systems.

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 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows ServerOperating system
Affected:= 20h2= 2022
Windows Server 2012Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2
Windows Server 2016Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2019Operating 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. Identify Windows version
    Run `winver` or `systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"` to obtain the exact Windows build number and version
    Affected if Version matches any of: Windows 10 (1607, 1809, 1909, 20h2, 21h1, 21h2), Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012/2012 R2, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 20h2, or Windows Server 2022
  2. Verify Push Notifications component exists
    Check for the presence of the Windows Push Notification Service (WNS) by examining the registry key `HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Notifications` or reviewing installed Windows capabilities via `Get-WindowsCapability -Online | Where-Object Name -like '*Push*'`
    Affected if The Push Notifications component is installed on the system (this is default on most Windows 10/Server editions)
  3. Confirm authentication context
    Review whether the system allows or has authenticated user accounts that could leverage the push notifications pathway. Check local user accounts with `net user` or review domain-joined status
    Affected if The system has standard user accounts (non-admin) that could potentially trigger the vulnerable code path through push notification handling

A system is affected if it runs a Windows version from the affected list (Windows 10, 8.1, Server 2012 R2, Server 2016, Server 2019, Server 2022, or Server 20h2) and has the Push Notifications component present, since the vulnerability allows authenticated users to elevate privileges via improper handling in this component.

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 Microsoft security update KB5009596 or subsequent patches via Windows Update to address this vulnerability in affected Windows systems.

Recommended fix High confidence

Apply Microsoft January 2022 Security Updates (CVE-2022-21867)

  1. Navigate to Microsoft's Security Update Guide (msrc.microsoft.com) and search for CVE-2022-21867
  2. Locate the applicable security update for your specific Windows version from the January 2022 patch Tuesday release
  3. Download and install the appropriate security update (KB500xxxx) for your Windows version
  4. Restart the affected system to complete the patch installation
  5. Verify the update was successfully installed by checking Windows Update history or system information
Caveat Standard patching risk: test updates in non-production environment first, especially on server systems

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
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2022-21867 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