CVE-2022-26928
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 Photo Import API 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 confidenceThis is an Elevation of Privilege (EoP) vulnerability in the Windows Photo Import API that allows an authenticated attacker to gain higher privileges on the system. The CVSS score of 7 indicates the vulnerability is exploitable and can be chained with other attacks for greater impact.
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= 20h2= 21h1= 21h2= 1607= 1809all versionsall versionsall 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
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Check Windows versionRun 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to identify the installed Windows version and build numberAffected if The version matches Windows 10 (20h2, 21h1, 21h2, 1607, 1809 or later), Windows 11, Windows Server 2016, 2019, or 2022 - all of which are in the affected product list
-
Identify if Photo Import feature is presentCheck for the presence of the Photo Import API components - look for 'photoupload.dll' in C:\Windows\System32 or check for the Windows Photo Import service in Services.mscAffected if The Photo Import functionality exists on the system, which is present by default in affected Windows versions
-
Check for recent privilege escalation indicatorsReview Windows Event Viewer security logs for Event ID 4688 (process creation) with unusual parent processes related to Photo Import, or Event ID 4624/4625 for unexpected account creation with elevated privileges after the vulnerability disclosure dateAffected if Unusual process creation or account manipulation involving Photo Import components is found in security logs after the vulnerability disclosure date (April 2022)
-
Verify patch statusCheck installed updates for KB5012340 (May 2022 security update for Windows Photo Import) or subsequent relevant security patches via 'wmic qfe list' or Get-HotFix powershell cmdletAffected if The security update for CVE-2022-26928 (KB5012340 or newer) is NOT installed, meaning the system remains vulnerable
A user is affected if they run any of the listed Windows versions without the CVE-2022-26928 security patch and have the Photo Import functionality accessible on their system.
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.
From vendor dataApply the Microsoft security update released for CVE-2022-26928 to all affected Windows systems. Verify that the Photo Import functionality is still operational after patching.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,936.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-26928 — 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-2022-26928 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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