Endpoint SecurityApplication · Elastic
CVE-2022-38775
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in the rollback feature of Elastic Endpoint Security 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 confidenceThe rollback feature in Elastic Endpoint Security for Windows contains a privilege escalation vulnerability that allows unprivileged users to elevate their privileges to the LocalSystem account. This is a local attack vector requiring no network access.
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
Endpoint SecurityApplication
< 8.4.1CVSS 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.
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Verify Elastic Endpoint Security is installedCheck for the presence of Elastic Endpoint Security on the Windows system by looking for the Elastic Endpoint service or checking Program Files for Elastic directoriesAffected if Elastic Endpoint Security is installed on the system
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Check installed version against affected rangeDetermine the installed version of Elastic Endpoint Security by querying the installed software or the Elastic Endpoint service versionAffected if The installed version is lower than 8.4.1 (e.g., 8.4.0 or earlier)
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Identify rollback feature directoriesLocate the directories or configuration files associated with the rollback feature in the Elastic Endpoint installation pathAffected if Rollback feature directories exist and are accessible on the system
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Verify write access to rollback featureCheck file system permissions on the rollback feature directories to determine if unprivileged users have write accessAffected if Unprivileged users have write permissions to rollback directories or configuration files
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Audit for suspicious process activityMonitor for processes spawning from the Elastic Endpoint service that indicate misuse of the rollback featureAffected if Unusual or unauthorized processes are observed running in the context of the Elastic Endpoint service
The system is affected if Elastic Endpoint Security version is below 8.4.1 and unprivileged users have access to the rollback feature directories or can interact with the rollback functionality.
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 · scoped8.4.1
Apply the vendor patch when available. Until then, restrict write access to the rollback feature's directories and monitor for suspicious process activity spawning from the Elastic Endpoint service.
8.4.1 or later
- Upgrade Elastic Endpoint Security for Windows to version 8.4.1 or later to remediate the privilege escalation vulnerability in the rollback feature
- If using Elastic Fleet, ensure the endpoint protection policy is updated to enforce the latest agent version
- Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the Endpoint Security version in the Elastic Fleet management console
- Test the rollback feature to confirm it no longer allows unprivileged users to escalate to LocalSystem privileges
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Endpoint Security
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,504.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-38775 — 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-2022-38775 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
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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