dbcve.org
Windows 10Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2022-21912

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
DirectX Graphics Kernel Remote Code Execution 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

A vulnerability in the DirectX Graphics Kernel allows an attacker to execute arbitrary code at the kernel level. The specific flaw involves memory handling or access control within the graphics kernel subsystem, which processes DirectX commands.

MitigationApply the appropriate Microsoft security update for DirectX Graphics Kernel or install the latest Windows security patches addressing kernel-mode driver vulnerabilities.

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 ServerOperating system
Affected:= 20h2
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 your Windows version
    Run 'winver' from command prompt or check System Properties, or run 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"'
    Affected if The displayed version matches Windows 10 versions 1809, 1909, 20h2, 21h1, or 21h2; or Windows Server 20h2; or any version of Windows Server 2019
  2. Confirm DirectX Graphics Kernel driver presence
    Check if the file dxgkrnl.sys exists in the system drivers directory (typically C:\Windows\System32\drivers\dxgkrnl.sys)
    Affected if The file exists - this indicates the DirectX Graphics Kernel component is present on the system
  3. Verify graphics subsystem is operational
    Check if DirectX is functional by running 'dxdiag' or by confirming graphics drivers are installed and loaded
    Affected if DirectX diagnostics tool runs successfully or graphics drivers are active, indicating the vulnerable graphics kernel subsystem is in use

You are affected if your Windows version is any of 1809, 1909, 20h2, 21h1, or 21h2 for Windows 10, or 20h2 for Windows Server, or any version of Windows Server 2019, and the DirectX Graphics Kernel driver is present and operational on your system.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the appropriate Microsoft security update for DirectX Graphics Kernel or install the latest Windows security patches addressing kernel-mode driver vulnerabilities.

Fix this in Windows 10 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,040
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,864.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-21912 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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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-2022-21912 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