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Windows 10Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2022-21872

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
Windows Event Tracing 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

Windows Event Tracing Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability - A flaw in Windows Event Tracing allows an authenticated attacker to elevate privileges, potentially gaining SYSTEM-level access on affected Windows systems.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2022-21872 to affected Windows systems. Prioritize patching domain controllers and systems with privileged user access.

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 11Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows ServerOperating system
Affected:= 20h2= 2022
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
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 and build
    Run 'winver' or execute 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to determine the exact Windows build version
    Affected if Version matches 1809, 1909, 20h2, 21h1, or 21h2 for Windows 10; any version for Windows 11; 20h2 or 2022 for Windows Server; or any version for Windows Server 2019
  2. Confirm security update presence
    Open Settings > Windows Update > View update history, or run 'powershell "Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.Description -like '*Security*'}'" to list installed security updates
    Affected if The CVE-2022-21872 security update is NOT listed among installed updates

System is affected if it runs any of the listed affected Windows versions AND is missing the corresponding security update for CVE-2022-21872

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 for CVE-2022-21872 to affected Windows systems. Prioritize patching domain controllers and systems with privileged user access.

Recommended fix High confidence

January 2022 Windows Security Updates (apply the KB specific to your version)

  1. Identify the exact Windows version and build by running 'winver' or 'systeminfo'
  2. Open Windows Update via Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update
  3. Check for updates and install all available security updates for January 2022
  4. Alternatively, manually download and install the appropriate security update from the Microsoft Update Catalog for your specific Windows version (KB5009543 for Windows 10 21H2/21H1/20H2, KB5009555 for Windows Server 2019, KB5009557 for Windows Server 2022)
  5. Restart the system after installing the update
  6. Verify the update is installed by checking 'Installed Updates' in Control Panel or running 'Get-HotFix' in PowerShell

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 / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

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-2022-21872 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