Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 31 Jan 2023. Known ransomware use
Exchange ServerApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2022-41080

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-11-09
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Ransomware High EPSS Remotely reachable Zero-click 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
Microsoft Exchange Server 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 · moderate confidence

This is an elevation of privilege vulnerability in Microsoft Exchange Server that allows an authenticated attacker to gain higher privileges on the affected system. The high CVSS score of 8.8 indicates significant potential impact if exploited.

MitigationApply the official Microsoft security updates for CVE-2022-41080. Microsoft released patches as part of their November 2022 security updates. Ensure Exchange Server is updated to a supported, patched version.

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
Exchange ServerApplication
Affected:= 2013= 2016= 2019

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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. Confirm Exchange Server is installed
    Run Get-ExchangeServer cmdlet in Exchange Management Shell or check Programs and Features for Microsoft Exchange Server
    Affected if Exchange Server 2013, 2016, or 2019 is present on the system
  2. Identify Exchange Server version
    Run Get-ExchangeServer | Select-Object Name,AdminDisplayVersion in Exchange Management Shell, or check registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ExchangeServer\v15\SetupVersion
    Affected if Version matches 2013, 2016, or 2019 (any build)
  3. Verify Exchange services are running
    Run Get-Service *Exchange* | Where-Object {$_.Status -eq 'Running'} to confirm Exchange services are active
    Affected if Exchange services are running and the server is operational
  4. Confirm authenticated access is possible
    Review who has valid mailbox accounts or Active Directory user accounts with Exchange server access using Get-Mailbox -ResultSize Unlimited
    Affected if Any valid authenticated users exist in the Exchange environment
  5. Check for applied security updates
    Review installed updates for Exchange Server-specific security patches via Control Panel > View installed updates, or run Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.Description -like '*Exchange*'}
    Affected if No Exchange-specific security updates have been installed after October 2022
  6. Assess network exposure
    Review firewall rules and IIS bindings to determine if Exchange services (OWA, ECP, EWS, MAPI) are exposed to untrusted networks
    Affected if Exchange web services are accessible from outside the trusted network

The system is affected if it runs Exchange Server 2013, 2016, or 2019 without the October 2022 or later security updates installed.

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.

From vendor data
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch msrc.microsoft.com →
Interim mitigation

Apply the official Microsoft security updates for CVE-2022-41080. Microsoft released patches as part of their November 2022 security updates. Ensure Exchange Server is updated to a supported, patched version.

Fix this in Exchange Server Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-41080 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-41080 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