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Windows 10Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2022-34721

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-09-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
High EPSS Remotely reachable No privileges 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 Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Protocol Extensions 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

This is a remote code execution vulnerability in Windows Internet Key Exchange (IKE) Protocol Extensions. The vulnerability exists in the IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules service and can be exploited by sending specially crafted IKE packets to a targeted system, allowing an unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security updates addressed in the CVE advisory. For systems where patching is not immediately possible, consider blocking IKE traffic at the network perimeter or disabling IKE/AuthIP IPsec services if not required.

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 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

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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. Check Windows version
    Run 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' or 'winver' to identify the Windows version and build
    Affected if The version falls outside the supported Microsoft update channel or is an older, unsupported release that no longer receives security patches
  2. Identify the IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules service
    Run 'sc query IKEEXT' or 'Get-Service IKEEXT' to query the status of the IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules service
    Affected if The IKEEXT service is running and the system accepts IKE packets from the network
  3. Check for listening IKE ports
    Run 'netsh advfirewall firewall show rule name=all' or 'netstat -an | findstr ":500 "' to check if UDP ports 500 and 4500 are open, which are used by IKE/IPsec
    Affected if UDP ports 500 (IKE) and 4500 (NAT-T) are listening and exposed to untrusted networks
  4. Verify IPsec/IKE policy configuration
    Run 'netsh ipsec dynamic show all' or check registry under 'HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\IKEEXT\Parameters' to see if IPsec keying modules are configured
    Affected if IPsec policies using IKE or AuthIP keying modules are active on the system
  5. Confirm exposure to untrusted networks
    Review firewall rules and network perimeter configurations to determine if the IKE service (UDP 500/4500) is accessible from outside the trusted network
    Affected if The IKE service is reachable from external or untrusted network segments without proper network filtering

A system is likely affected if it runs a vulnerable Windows version listed in the CVE and has the IKEEXT service enabled with IKE ports exposed to the network.

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 updates addressed in the CVE advisory. For systems where patching is not immediately possible, consider blocking IKE traffic at the network perimeter or disabling IKE/AuthIP IPsec services if not required.

Recommended fix High confidence

August 2022 Windows Security Updates (released August 9, 2022)

  1. Open Windows Update by clicking the Start button and selecting Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update
  2. Click 'Check for updates' to see if the August 2022 security updates are available
  3. Install any available updates, particularly the security update for the IKE and IPsec Key Exchange Modules
  4. Restart the computer after installing the updates
  5. Verify the update was installed by checking Windows Update history for the August 2022 security update (KB5017399 or version-specific security update)
Caveat Standard Windows security update risks - test in staging environment before broad deployment if possible

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

Fix this in Windows 10 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
40.0 hours of engineering $7,000
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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-2022-34721 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