dbcve.org
Windows 10Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2022-21964

MEDIUM · 5.5 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 →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Remote Desktop Licensing Diagnoser Information Disclosure 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 an information disclosure vulnerability in the Remote Desktop Licensing Diagnoser component of Windows. The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to potentially access sensitive licensing-related information through the diagnostics tool, likely due to improper access controls or information exposure in the licensing service.

MitigationApply the relevant Microsoft security update for this CVE to all affected Windows systems running Remote Desktop Licensing services. Verify that network access to Remote Desktop services is properly restricted to authorized users.

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:= 1607

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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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 10 version
    Run 'winver' from command prompt or check System Properties to determine if the Windows version is 1607 (also known as the Anniversary Update)
    Affected if The installed Windows 10 version is exactly 1607
  2. Check for Remote Desktop Licensing service
    Open Services console (services.msc) and look for 'Remote Desktop Licensing' service, or run 'sc query termservice' to check for Terminal Services/Remote Desktop services
    Affected if Remote Desktop Licensing or Remote Desktop Services are installed on the system
  3. Verify Remote Desktop Licensing Diagnoser presence
    Check for the presence of RdpsDiagnose.dll or licensing diagnostic tools in %SystemRoot%\System32\ or check Registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\RPC\RD Licensing for the diagnostic component
    Affected if The Remote Desktop Licensing Diagnoser component is present on the system
  4. Confirm service status
    Run 'sc query RDLicSvc' or check if the Remote Desktop Licensing service (RDLicSvc) is installed and running
    Affected if The Remote Desktop Licensing service is installed and available on the system

A system is affected if it is running Windows 10 version 1607 with the Remote Desktop Licensing Diagnoser component present and the Remote Desktop Licensing service installed.

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 relevant Microsoft security update for this CVE to all affected Windows systems running Remote Desktop Licensing services. Verify that network access to Remote Desktop services is properly restricted to authorized users.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Windows 10 21H2 or later (Windows 10 1607 reached end of support)

  1. Verify current Windows version by running 'winver' command
  2. Since Windows 10 version 1607 has reached end of support, upgrade to a supported Windows 10 version (such as 21H2 or 22H2) or migrate to Windows 11
  3. If immediate patching is required on Windows 10 1607, check Microsoft Update Catalog for security update KB5001402 (released March 2022) which addresses this vulnerability
  4. Apply the security update via Windows Update or manually download from Microsoft Update Catalog
  5. After patching, verify the vulnerability is resolved
Caveat Windows 10 1607 is no longer supported; upgrading may require application compatibility testing

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
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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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-2022-21964 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