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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 9 Dec 2022.
Windows 10 1507Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2022-41049

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-11-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.0.10240.19567 / 10.0.14393.5501 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Remotely reachable No privileges Patch available

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 Mark of the Web Security Feature Bypass 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 vulnerability allows bypassing Windows Mark of the Web (MOTW) security feature, which normally tags files downloaded from the internet with restrictive security zones and warning prompts. The bypass could enable malicious files to execute without the expected security restrictions or user warnings.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security update KB5019961 (CVE-2022-41049) or later cumulative Windows security patches to affected systems.

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 10 1507Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.10240.19567
Windows 10 1607Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.14393.5501
Windows 10 1809Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.17763.3650
Windows 10 20h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19042.2251
Windows 10 21h1Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19043.2251
Windows 10 21h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19044.2251
Windows 10 22h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.19045.2251
Windows 11 21h2Operating system
Affected:< 10.0.22000.1219

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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L

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 build number
    Open Command Prompt or PowerShell and run: `winver` (displays version and build) or `systeminfo | findstr /C:"Build"` for detailed build info
    Affected if The build number displayed is lower than the threshold for your Windows version (e.g., below 19045.2251 for Win10 22h2, below 22000.1219 for Win11 21h2)
  2. Identify exact Windows version
    Run `winver` or check Settings > System > About to confirm your specific Windows 10 release (1507, 1607, 1809, 20h2, 21h1, 21h2, 22h2) or Windows 11 release (21h2)
    Affected if You are running any of the affected versions listed in the CVE and your build is below the specified threshold for that release
  3. Verify MOTW protection status (if suspicious file found)
    If you have a file that should have MOTW, right-click the file in File Explorer, go to Properties, and look for a Security warning or Zone identifier under the General tab. Alternatively, use PowerShell: `Get-Item -Path "C:\path\to\file.exe" | Get-ItemProperty -Name Zone.Identifier`
    Affected if Files downloaded from the internet or received via email/messaging show no MOTW zone identifier when they should have one (ZoneId=3 for Internet, ZoneId=4 for Restricted)

You are affected if your Windows version matches one of the listed releases AND the installed build number is below the patched threshold for that release, which could allow downloaded files to evade MOTW protection.

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 10.0.10240.19567 / 10.0.14393.5501 / 10.0.17763.3650 or later
Fixed in 10.0.10240.1956710.0.14393.550110.0.17763.3650
Vendor patch msrc.microsoft.com →
Interim mitigation

Apply the Microsoft security update KB5019961 (CVE-2022-41049) or later cumulative Windows security patches to affected systems.

Recommended fix High confidence

Windows 10 1507 to 10.0.10240.19567+ | Windows 10 1607 to 10.0.14393.5501+ | Windows 10 1809 to 10.0.17763.3650+ | Windows 10 20H2 to 10.0.19042.2251+ | Windows 10 21H1 to 10.0.19043.2251+ | Windows 10 21H2 to 10.0.19044.2251+ | Windows 10 22H2 to 10.0.19045.2251+ | Windows 11 21H2 to 10.0.22000.121

  1. Open Windows Settings (Win + I)
  2. Navigate to Update & Security > Windows Update
  3. Click 'Check for updates' to download and install the latest cumulative update
  4. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed version for your Windows release: 10.0.10240.19567 (1507), 10.0.14393.5501 (1607), 10.0.17763.3650 (1809), 10.0.19042.2251 (20H2), 10.0.19043.2251 (21H1), 10.0.19044.2251 (21H2), 10.0.19045.2251 (22H2), or 10.0.22000.1219 (Windows 11 21H2)
Caveat Standard Windows update; may require restart; ensure backups of critical data before applying updates

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

Fix this in Windows 10 1507 Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-41049 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2022-41049 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

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