dbcve.org
EndgameApplication · Elastic

CVE-2022-38774

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-01-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.17.7 / 8.4.0 or later.
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
An issue was discovered in the quarantine feature of Elastic Endpoint Security and Elastic Endgame for Windows, which could allow unprivileged users to elevate their privileges to those of the LocalSystem account.

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 local privilege escalation vulnerability in the quarantine feature of Elastic Endpoint Security and Elastic Endgame for Windows. The flaw allows unprivileged users to elevate their privileges to the LocalSystem account, giving them full administrative control over the affected Windows host.

MitigationApply available patches or updates from Elastic for the Endpoint Security and Endgame products. If a patch is not yet available, restrict access to the quarantine feature and monitor for suspicious activity using the remaining defensive capabilities.

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
EndgameApplication
Affected:<= 3.62.2
Endpoint SecurityApplication
Affected:< 7.17.7>= 8.0.0, < 8.4.0

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. Verify if Elastic Endpoint Security or Elastic Endgame is installed
    Open Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like '*Elastic*'}' in PowerShell to list installed Elastic products
    Affected if Either Elastic Endpoint Security or Elastic Endgame appears in the installed programs list
  2. Determine the installed version of the Elastic product
    Run 'Get-ItemProperty "C:\Program Files\Elastic\Endpoint\*\elastic-endpoint.exe' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object VersionInfo' or check the version in the program's Properties window via Control Panel > Programs and Features
    Affected if The version number matches the affected ranges: Endgame <= 3.62.2, or Endpoint Security < 7.17.7, or >= 8.0.0 and < 8.4.0
  3. Confirm the quarantine feature is enabled
    Check the Elastic Endpoint or Endgame configuration. In the Elastic Endpoint Security console, navigate to Policy > Malware Protection > Quarantine and verify if the quarantine setting is turned on, or inspect the endpoint configuration file for 'quarantine' settings
    Affected if The quarantine feature is enabled in the security policy or configuration
  4. Check for unprivileged user access to quarantine operations
    Review Windows Event Logs under 'Application and Services Logs > Elastic' for quarantine-related events, and verify if non-admin users can access or trigger quarantine actions through the Elastic endpoint agent
    Affected if Unprivileged (non-Administrator) users have the ability to interact with or trigger quarantine operations

You are affected if Elastic Endpoint Security or Elastic Endgame is installed on Windows with a vulnerable version AND the quarantine feature is enabled and accessible to unprivileged users.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 7.17.7 / 8.4.0 or later
Fixed in 7.17.78.4.0
Interim mitigation

Apply available patches or updates from Elastic for the Endpoint Security and Endgame products. If a patch is not yet available, restrict access to the quarantine feature and monitor for suspicious activity using the remaining defensive capabilities.

Recommended fix High confidence

Endgame: 3.62.3 or later | Endpoint Security: 7.17.7+ (7.x branch) or 8.4.0+ (8.x branch)

  1. Identify the currently installed version of Elastic Endgame or Endpoint Security by checking the software UI or using system inventory tools
  2. For Endgame users: Plan upgrade to version 3.62.3 or later
  3. For Endpoint Security users on 7.x branch: Plan upgrade to version 7.17.7 or later
  4. For Endpoint Security users on 8.x branch: Plan upgrade to version 8.4.0 or later
  5. Review Elastic's official upgrade documentation for the specific product version
  6. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment to verify compatibility
  7. Schedule a maintenance window for the production upgrade
  8. Perform the upgrade following Elastic's documented upgrade procedures
Caveat Review Elastic's upgrade notes for potential configuration or behavioral changes between major/minor versions

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

Fix this in Endgame Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.

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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-2022-38774 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