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Windows 10Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2022-41093

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-11-09
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
Windows Advanced Local Procedure Call (ALPC) 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

A local privilege escalation vulnerability in Windows Advanced Local Procedure Call (ALPC), which is an inter-process communication mechanism in the Windows kernel. Successful exploitation allows an authenticated attacker to gain higher privileges on the affected system.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2022-41093. As a defensive measure, limit user privileges to least-privilege and monitor for suspicious ALPC activity.

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 10Operating system
Affected:all versions= 20h2= 21h1= 21h2= 22h2= 1607= 1809
Windows 11Operating system
Affected:all versions= 22h2
Windows 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2012Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2
Windows Server 2016Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2019Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2022Operating system
Affected:all versions

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
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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. Check Windows version and build number
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to see the installed Windows edition, version, and build number
    Affected if The version matches Windows 10 (20h2, 21h1, 21h2, 22h2, 1607, 1809), Windows 11 (22h2), Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012/2012R2, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019, or Windows Server 2022 - all versions of these releases are affected
  2. Verify the security update is installed
    Open Settings > Windows Update > Update history, or run 'wmic qfe list' to list installed hotfixes. Look for security update KB5020030 (the November 2022 update containing the CVE-2022-41093 fix)
    Affected if The security update KB5020030 (or later cumulative update containing the fix) is NOT installed
  3. Confirm the ALPC component is present
    Verify the ALPC driver exists at %SystemRoot%\System32\drivers\ALPC.sys or check its presence via 'sc query alpc' command
    Affected if The ALPC driver is present and the system is an affected Windows version (ALPC is present by default on all affected Windows versions)
  4. Check current user privileges
    Run 'whoami /priv' or 'whoami /groups' to see current user group memberships and privileges
    Affected if The current user is an authenticated local user (non-admin) - the vulnerability allows privilege escalation from any authenticated user context

The system is likely affected if it runs any version of Windows 10/11/8.1/Server 2012/2016/2019/2022 listed as affected AND lacks the November 2022 security update KB5020030 or later.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2022-41093. As a defensive measure, limit user privileges to least-privilege and monitor for suspicious ALPC activity.

Recommended fix High confidence

Microsoft November 2022 Patch Tuesday security updates (KB5019080 and related KBs for respective Windows versions)

  1. Open Windows Update on the affected system and check for the November 2022 security updates
  2. If updates are not automatically offered, manually download the November 2022 security update from the Microsoft Update Catalog relevant to your Windows version
  3. Install the November 2022 security update (this vulnerability was addressed in the November 2022 Patch Tuesday release)
  4. Restart the system after installing the update to ensure the vulnerability is fully remediated
  5. Verify the update was successfully installed by checking Windows Update history
Caveat Standard Windows update considerations apply - review release notes for any known issues before deployment in production environments

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

Fix this in Windows 10 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2022-41093 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