CVE-2022-26823
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 · uneditedWindows DNS Server 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 confidenceWindows DNS Server contains a remote code execution vulnerability that allows an attacker to execute arbitrary code on affected DNS servers.
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 dataall versions= 20h2all versionsall versionsCVSS 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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Windows Server versionRun 'systeminfo' or 'winver' to view the OS name and version. Check if the system is Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019, or Windows Server 2022.Affected if The system is running any version of Windows Server 2016, 2019, or 2022.
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Verify DNS Server role is installedRun 'Get-WindowsFeature DNS' in PowerShell (with admin rights) or check via Server Manager to see if the DNS Server role is installed.Affected if The DNS Server role is installed on the system.
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Confirm DNS Server service is runningRun 'Get-Service DNS' or check the DNS Server service status in services.msc.Affected if The DNS Server service is present and running on the system.
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Check Windows build numberRun 'winver' or 'systeminfo' and note the build number (for example, 14393 for Windows Server 2016, 17763 for Windows Server 2019, 20348 for Windows Server 2022).Affected if The build number matches Windows Server 2016, 2019, or 2022 releases.
The system is affected if it runs Windows Server 2016, 2019, or 2022 with the DNS Server role installed and the DNS service enabled.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scopedApply Microsoft security updates for Windows DNS Server when available; restrict network access to DNS server ports and implement least-privilege service accounts.
Apply April 2022 security updates for Windows Server (KB5012599 for Windows Server 2022, KB5012591 for Windows Server 2019, KB5012592 for Windows Server 2016)
- Verify the DNS Server role is installed on the affected Windows Server by opening Server Manager and checking 'DNS' under 'Add roles and features'
- Check the current installed updates by running 'Get-HotFix' in PowerShell or viewing the Windows Update history
- Apply the April 2022 security updates for Windows Server. For CVE-2022-26823, this was released as part of the April 2022 Patch Tuesday updates. The specific updates can be obtained via Windows Update, WSUS, or the Microsoft Update Catalog
- Restart the server after applying the updates to ensure the DNS Server component is fully patched
- Verify the vulnerability is resolved by confirming the DNS Server service is running normally after reboot
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-26823 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-26823 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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