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Windows 10Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2022-21889

HIGH · 7.5 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 →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges 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 Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Extension Denial of Service 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 denial of service vulnerability in the Windows Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Extension, which handles key exchange for IPSec VPNs. An unauthenticated remote attacker can send specially crafted IKE packets to cause the affected system to stop responding, requiring a restart to recover.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security updates for CVE-2022-21889 to all affected Windows systems, prioritizing internet-facing VPN servers and gateways. Test IKE/IPSec VPN connectivity after patching.

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 Rt 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows ServerOperating system
Affected:= 20h2= 2022
Windows Server 2008Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2012Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to identify the installed Windows version
    Affected if The version matches one listed in affected products (Windows 10 20h2/21h1/21h2/1607/1809/1909, Windows 11, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows Rt 8.1, Windows Server 20h2/2022, Server 2008, Server 2012/2012 R2)
  2. Verify IKE Extension service status
    Run 'sc query IKEEXT' or check Services.msc for 'IKE and Authenticated IP' service to see if the IKE Extension is loaded
    Affected if The IKEEXT service is running or set to start (vulnerability only applies when IKE Extension is enabled)
  3. Confirm IKE listening ports are exposed
    Run 'netstat -an | findstr "UDP.*:500 "' and 'netstat -an | findstr "UDP.*:4500 "' to check if IKE ports (500, 4500) are listening
    Affected if UDP ports 500 (IKE) and 4500 (NAT-T) are listening, indicating the system is acting as a VPN gateway and is network-accessible
  4. Check for IPSec VPN configuration
    Run 'netsh advfirewall consec show rule all' or check 'netsh ipsec dynamic show all' to see if IPSec policies are configured
    Affected if IPSec/IKE policies or rules are defined, confirming the system uses IKE for VPN key exchange

The system is affected if it runs a vulnerable Windows version listed in the CVE AND has the IKE Extension service enabled AND is configured as a VPN gateway with IKE listening on UDP 500/4500.

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 updates for CVE-2022-21889 to all affected Windows systems, prioritizing internet-facing VPN servers and gateways. Test IKE/IPSec VPN connectivity after patching.

Recommended fix High confidence

January 2022 Security Updates for Windows (install the applicable patch for your specific Windows version)

  1. Apply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2022-21889 from the January 2022 Security Updates. Go to https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide and search for CVE-2022-21889.
  2. Download and install the appropriate security update for your Windows version from the Microsoft Update Catalog.
  3. Restart the affected system after applying the update to ensure the IKE extension vulnerability is fully remediated.
  4. Verify the update was successfully installed by checking Windows Update history or running 'systeminfo' in Command Prompt to confirm the installed hotfixes.
Caveat Ensure compatibility with existing VPN/IKE configurations before reboot; test in staging if possible

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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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-2022-21889 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