dbcve.org
Windows 10Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2022-26916

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-04-15
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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 Fax Compose Form 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 Remote Code Execution vulnerability in the Windows Fax Compose Form component allows attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected Windows systems through specially crafted input.

MitigationApply the relevant Microsoft security updates for this vulnerability to patched Windows systems; verify fax service functionality after 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= 1909
Windows 11Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 7Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Rt 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2008Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2
Windows Server 2012Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2
Windows Server 2016Operating system
Affected:all versions= 20h2

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
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 Windows version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to identify the installed Windows version
    Affected if Version matches Windows 10 (all versions, 20h2, 21h1, 21h2, 1607, 1809, 1909), Windows 11 (all versions), Windows 7 (all versions), Windows 8.1 (all versions), Windows Rt 8.1 (all versions), Windows Server 2008 (all versions, R2), Windows Server 2012 (all versions, R2), or Windows Server 2016 (all v
  2. Identify if Windows Fax service is present
    Open Services console (services.msc) and locate the 'Fax' service, or run 'Get-Service -Name Fax' in PowerShell
    Affected if The Fax service exists on the system (the vulnerability only affects systems with the Fax component installed)
  3. Check Fax service status
    Run 'Get-Service -Name Fax' or check the Startup type in Services console
    Affected if The Fax service is installed AND set to Running or Automatic startup (vulnerability requires the fax functionality to be available)
  4. Determine patch status
    Run 'wmic qfe list' or check Windows Update history for security updates installed around April 2022 (CVE-2022-26916 was addressed in Microsoft's April 2022 security updates)
    Affected if No relevant security update from April 2022 or later is installed AND the Fax service is present and enabled

System is affected if it runs an affected Windows version, has the Windows Fax component installed and enabled, AND is missing the April 2022 security update that addresses CVE-2022-26916

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 updates for this vulnerability to patched Windows systems; verify fax service functionality after patching.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Apply the relevant Microsoft security update (KB5012345 or later for May 2022; specific KB varies by Windows version)

  1. Open Windows Update settings on the affected system
  2. Check for and install the latest Windows security updates
  3. Alternatively, manually download and install the specific security update for CVE-2022-26916 from the Microsoft Update Catalog
  4. Restart the system after applying the update
  5. Verify the fax service is functioning normally after the update
Caveat For Windows 7, Server 2008, and other out-of-support versions, no official patch is available; consider upgrading to a supported Windows version

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Windows 10 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,300
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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-2022-26916 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