CVE-2022-21882
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 · uneditedWin32k 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 confidenceCVE-2022-21882 is an elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Windows Win32k kernel subsystem (win32k.sys). The vulnerability allows a locally authenticated attacker to gain elevated system privileges by exploiting a flaw in the graphics subsystem. This was addressed by Microsoft in the January 2022 security updates.
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< 10.0.17763.2452< 10.0.18363.2037< 10.0.19042.1466< 10.0.19043.1466< 10.0.19044.1466< 10.0.22000.434< 10.0.17763.2452< 10.0.20348.469CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Windows version and build numberRun 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to get the Windows edition, version, and build numberAffected if The build number is lower than the threshold for your Windows version (17763.2452 for 1809/Server 2019, 18363.2037 for 1909, 19042.1466 for 20H2, 19043.1466 for 21H1, 19044.1466 for 21H2, 22000.434 for 11/Server 2022)
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Verify win32k.sys versionOpen File Explorer, navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\, right-click win32k.sys, select Properties, and check the File Version on the Details tab. Alternatively run 'powershell -command "(Get-Item C:\Windows\System32\drivers\win32k.sys).VersionInfo.FileVersion"'Affected if The file version is lower than the patched version for your Windows build, or the file exists on an unpatched system (the vulnerability exists in the driver before patching)
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Confirm authenticated local access capabilityVerify that an attacker with valid local user credentials could execute code on the target system. This is a local privilege escalation requiring an authenticated local user, not remote exploitationAffected if The system runs an affected Windows version and an unprivileged local user account exists on the machine
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Check installed security updatesRun 'powershell -command "Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.Description -eq 'Security Update' -and $_.InstalledOn -ge '01/11/2022'}"' or check Windows Update history for January 2022 or later security updatesAffected if No Microsoft security updates from January 2022 or later are installed, indicating the patch is missing
You are affected if your Windows version matches one in the affected list AND your build number is below the specified threshold, meaning the win32k.sys driver has not been patched.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped10.0.17763.245210.0.18363.203710.0.19042.1466
Apply the Microsoft security update released in January 2022 for this vulnerability. For systems where patching is not immediately possible, consider restricting interactive logon rights and monitoring for suspicious kernel-level activity.
Install the January 2022 Windows Security Update (or later) appropriate for your Windows version: Windows 10 1809 (10.0.17763.2452), Windows 10 1909 (10.0.18363.2037), Windows 10 20H2 (10.0.19042.1466), Windows 10 21H1 (10.0.19043.1466), Windows 10 21H2 (10.0.19044.1466), Windows 11 21H2 (10.0.22000
- Open Windows Settings and navigate to Update & Security > Windows Update
- Click 'Check for updates' to download and install the latest security updates from Microsoft Update
- Ensure the update includes the fix for CVE-2022-21882 (KB5009557 or later for your Windows version)
- After installation, restart the system to complete the patch deployment
- Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed version (e.g., Windows 10 1809 should be 10.0.17763.2452 or later)
- Alternatively, use Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) or Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager to deploy the relevant monthly security update
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-21882 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-21882 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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