dbcve.org
Windows 10Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2022-21890

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 is part of Windows IPsec VPN implementations. An unauthenticated attacker could send specially crafted IKE packets to cause the affected system to stop responding, requiring a restart to restore functionality.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security update KB5009557 (or subsequent relevant Windows security patches) to all affected Windows systems. For systems where patching is not immediately possible, consider blocking IKE traffic at perimeter firewalls or disabling IPsec if not required.

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. Identify Windows version
    Run 'winver' from the Start menu or execute 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' in Command Prompt. Compare the displayed version to the affected list: Windows 10 (all versions, particularly 20h2, 21h1, 21h2, 1607, 1809, 1909), Windows 11 (all versions), Windows 7 (all versions), Windows 8.1 (all versions), Windows Rt 8.1, Windows Server 20h2/2022, Windows Server 2008 (all versions), Windows Server 2012 (all versions, r2).
    Affected if The system runs any version listed in the affected products.
  2. Determine if IPsec/IKE is configured
    Open Windows Firewall with Advanced Security, click on 'Connection Security Rules' in the left pane. Alternatively, run 'netsh ipsec dynamic show all' or 'netsh ipsec static show all' from an elevated Command Prompt to list IPsec policies.
    Affected if One or more IPsec connection security rules or policies exist, indicating IKE is active.
  3. Check for IKE service status
    Open Services (services.msc) and locate 'IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules' (service name: IKEEXT). Check if the service is running or set to start automatically.
    Affected if The IKEEXT service is present and enabled (running or set to Automatic).
  4. Inspect IKE registry keys
    Open Registry Editor (regedit) and navigate to 'HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\IKEEXT\Parameters'. Review any subkeys that may indicate IKE profile configurations.
    Affected if The IKEEXT service registry key exists, confirming the IKE extension is installed.
  5. Verify listening IKE ports
    Run 'netsh ipsec dynamic show all' or use 'netstat -ano | findstr "500 4500"' to check if UDP ports 500 (IKE) and 4500 (IPsec NAT-T) are listening.
    Affected if UDP ports 500 or 4500 are in a listening state, indicating the system is accepting IKE traffic.

A system is affected if it runs a vulnerable Windows version AND has IKE/IPsec enabled (connection security rules, IKEEXT service, or listening IKE ports), making it reachable on UDP 500/4500 from the network.

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 KB5009557 (or subsequent relevant Windows security patches) to all affected Windows systems. For systems where patching is not immediately possible, consider blocking IKE traffic at perimeter firewalls or disabling IPsec if not required.

Recommended fix High confidence
  1. Open Windows Update (Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update)
  2. Click 'Check for updates' and install all available updates
  3. Alternatively, manually download and install the January 2022 or later Security Update for your Windows version from the Microsoft Update Catalog

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
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
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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-2022-21890 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