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Windows 10Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2022-22031

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-07-12
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
Windows Credential Guard Domain-joined Public Key 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 confidence

This is a local Elevation of Privilege vulnerability in Windows Credential Guard affecting domain-joined systems. The vulnerability allows a low-privileged attacker to potentially bypass Credential Guard's protection mechanisms and escalate privileges by manipulating how Credential Guard handles domain-joined public key credentials. This could enable an attacker to gain higher-level access on the affected Windows system.

MitigationApply the relevant Microsoft security update (KB5011543 for April 2022 Patch Tuesday or subsequent cumulative updates). For systems where immediate patching is not feasible, consider restricting interactive logon rights and monitoring for suspicious credential access attempts, though this is not a substitute for 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
Windows 11Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2016Operating system
Affected:all versions= 20h2
Windows Server 2019Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2022Operating 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. Confirm the system is domain-joined
    Run `systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"Domain:"` and verify the output shows a domain name rather than WORKGROUP
    Affected if The system is not domain-joined - the vulnerability specifically affects domain-joined systems with Credential Guard enabled
  2. Verify the Windows version is in the affected list
    Run `winver` or `systeminfo` and compare the displayed Windows version against the affected products: Windows 10 (all versions including 1607, 1809, 20h2, 21h1, 21h2), Windows 11 (all versions), Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022, or Windows Server 20h2
    Affected if The Windows version does not match any of the listed affected versions
  3. Determine if Credential Guard is enabled
    Open `msinfo32` and look for the "Device Guard" or "Credential Guard" entry in the System Summary, or check the registry key `HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceGuard\Enabled`
    Affected if Credential Guard is not enabled or not present on the system - the vulnerability bypasses Credential Guard protection, so it only applies when Credential Guard is active

A system is affected only if it is domain-joined, runs an affected Windows version, AND has Credential Guard enabled - all three conditions must be true.

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 (KB5011543 for April 2022 Patch Tuesday or subsequent cumulative updates). For systems where immediate patching is not feasible, consider restricting interactive logon rights and monitoring for suspicious credential access attempts, though this is not a substitute for patching.

Recommended fix High confidence

Install the July 2022 Windows Security Update or later cumulative update for your specific Windows version

  1. Check current Windows version by running 'winver' or 'systeminfo' in Command Prompt
  2. Ensure Windows Update is enabled and configured to receive automatic updates
  3. Run Windows Update and install all available security updates, particularly the July 2022 security updates (CVE-2022-22031)
  4. For Windows 10: Install KB5015861 or later cumulative update
  5. For Windows 11: Install KB5015813 or later cumulative update
  6. For Windows Server 2016/2019/2022: Install corresponding July 2022 security updates
  7. After installation, restart the system to apply the fix
  8. Verify the patch is installed by checking installed updates (run 'appwiz.cpl' and view installed updates)
Caveat Standard Windows security update with no expected breaking changes; as with any system update, test in a non-production environment first 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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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-2022-22031 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