dbcve.org
Windows 10Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2022-35820

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-08-09
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 Bluetooth 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 · high confidence

A local privilege escalation vulnerability in the Windows Bluetooth driver allows an authenticated attacker to elevate their privileges to SYSTEM level by exploiting improper validation in the Bluetooth driver component.

MitigationApply the August 2022 Windows security updates that address this vulnerability. Prioritize systems with Bluetooth functionality enabled.

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:= 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
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. Determine if Bluetooth is present and enabled
    Open Device Manager and expand 'Bluetooth' section, or run 'Get-PnpDevice -Class Bluetooth' in PowerShell to list Bluetooth devices and their status
    Affected if Bluetooth hardware is present and the Bluetooth device is enabled/connected - the driver must be loaded for exploitation
  2. Check the installed Windows version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to identify the exact Windows version and build number
    Affected if The version matches any of the affected versions: Windows 10 (all versions including 20h2, 21h1, 21h2, 1607, 1809), Windows 11 (all versions), Windows 7 (all versions), Windows 8.1 (all versions), Windows Rt 8.1, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012 (all versions including R2), Windows Server
  3. Verify if August 2022 security updates are installed
    Run 'wmic qfe list' or check Windows Update history for security updates installed in August 2022, specifically looking for KB5016616 or later cumulative updates
    Affected if The August 2022 security updates are NOT installed - the system remains vulnerable if unpatched

The system is affected if Bluetooth is enabled on an unpatched Windows version from the affected list (Windows 7, 8.1, 10, 11, or Server 2008R2/2012/2016) that lacks the August 2022 security updates.

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 August 2022 Windows security updates that address this vulnerability. Prioritize systems with Bluetooth functionality enabled.

Recommended fix High confidence
  1. Open Windows Update on the affected system (Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update)
  2. Click 'Check for updates' to download and install the latest security updates
  3. If automatic updates are disabled, enable them or implement a process to regularly check for and apply Microsoft security updates
  4. For enterprise environments, deploy the applicable security update through Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager, or other patch management tools
  5. Restart the system after installing updates to ensure the Bluetooth driver patch is fully applied
  6. Verify the update was installed by checking Windows Update history for the relevant security update

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
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,380
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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-2022-35820 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