dbcve.org
Windows 10Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2022-24455

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-03-09
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 CD-ROM Driver 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 the Windows CD-ROM driver (cdrom.sys). The vulnerability allows a low-privilege authenticated attacker to escalate to SYSTEM privileges by exploiting a flaw in how the kernel-mode CD-ROM driver handles certain operations.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2022-24455. As a defense-in-depth measure, ensure users do not have unnecessary administrative privileges and monitor for suspicious CD-ROM device access.

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= 1607= 1809= 1909
Windows 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Rt 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2012Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2
Windows Server 2016Operating system
Affected:all versions
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 Windows version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to determine the exact Windows version and build number
    Affected if The version matches Windows 10 (any), Windows 8.1 (any), Windows RT 8.1, Windows Server 2012/2012 R2, Windows Server 2016, or Windows Server 2019
  2. Locate cdrom.sys driver file
    Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\cdrom.sys and verify the file exists. Right-click the file, select Properties, and check the Details tab for the File Version
    Affected if The cdrom.sys file exists on the system - the vulnerability is in this driver
  3. Check cdrom.sys version against patch state
    Run 'driverquery /v | findstr cdrom' or use PowerShell 'Get-ItemProperty C:\Windows\System32\drivers\cdrom.sys' to retrieve the driver version and compare to unpatched state
    Affected if The driver version corresponds to an unpatched state for the affected Windows version listed in the CVE
  4. Check if the system has CD/DVD-ROM hardware or virtual CD-ROM drives, and verify the cdrom service is present via 'sc query cdrom'
    Affected if A CD-ROM device or virtual drive is present and accessible to a low-privilege user

The system is likely affected if it runs an affected Windows version (10, 8.1, RT 8.1, Server 2012-2019) AND contains the cdrom.sys driver without the CVE-2022-24455 patch applied.

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 for CVE-2022-24455. As a defense-in-depth measure, ensure users do not have unnecessary administrative privileges and monitor for suspicious CD-ROM device access.

Recommended fix High confidence

February 2022 Windows Security Updates (or later)

  1. Navigate to the Microsoft Security Update Guide at msrc.microsoft.com
  2. Search for CVE-2022-24455
  3. Locate the security update applicable to your Windows version from the February 2022 patch Tuesday release
  4. Download and install the corresponding KB update for your Windows version (e.g., KB5010342 for Windows 10 version 1809/Windows Server 2019, KB5010192 for Windows 10 version 1607)
  5. Restart the affected system to complete the update installation
  6. Verify the update is installed by checking the installed updates list
Caveat Standard Windows security update risks - test in staging environment before broad deployment

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 / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2022-24455 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