CVE-2022-37954
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 · uneditedDirectX Graphics Kernel 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 · low confidenceThis is a privilege escalation vulnerability in the DirectX Graphics Kernel component of Windows. A local attacker with limited privileges could potentially exploit this vulnerability to gain elevated (SYSTEM-level) access on the affected system.
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= 20h2= 21h1= 21h2= 1809all 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Check your Windows versionRun 'winver' from Start menu or execute 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' in Command PromptAffected if The version shown is Windows 10 versions 1809, 20h2, 21h1, or 21h2; Windows 11 any version; Windows Server 2019 any version; or Windows Server 2022 any version
-
Verify the DirectX Graphics Kernel driver existsCheck for the presence of dxgkrnl.sys in the driver directory: navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\ and confirm dxgkrnl.sys exists, or run 'driverquery /v | findstr dxgkrnl'Affected if The dxgkrnl.sys driver file is present on the system (this is the vulnerable component)
-
Confirm graphics or DirectX is enabledRun 'dxdiag' from Run dialog and verify the DirectX version displayed, or check Device Manager for display adaptersAffected if DirectX is functional and the system has graphics capabilities (required for the vulnerable code path to be reachable)
-
Check for recent security updatesOpen Settings > Windows Update > View update history, or run 'wmic qfe list' in Command Prompt to list installed hotfixesAffected if No Microsoft security update for CVE-2022-37954 (released September 2022) is listed among installed updates
You are affected if you are running any of the listed Windows versions, have the DirectX Graphics Kernel driver present, and lack the September 2022 security update addressing CVE-2022-37954.
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 the Microsoft security update for CVE-2022-37954, which is typically delivered through Windows Update or WSUS in enterprise environments.
- Apply the relevant Windows security update for CVE-2022-37954 through Windows Update or your organization's patch management system
- Verify the update is installed by checking Windows Update history or using the Get-HotFix PowerShell cmdlet
- Restart the affected system as required to complete the update installation
- Confirm the vulnerability is remediated by verifying the DirectX Graphics Kernel component version matches the patched build
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $3,072.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-37954 — 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-2022-37954 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