CVE-2022-44667
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 · uneditedWindows Media Remote Code Execution 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 confidenceThis is a remote code execution vulnerability in Windows Media components (likely Windows Media Player or Media Foundation). The vulnerability allows an attacker to execute arbitrary code on affected Windows systems, likely through a specially crafted media file. The CVSS 7.8 score indicates low attack complexity and user interaction is required.
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 dataall versions= 20h2= 21h1= 21h2= 22h2= 1607= 1809all versions= 22h2all versionsall versionsall versions= r2all versions= r2all versionsCVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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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Check your Windows versionRun 'winver' from command prompt or check System Properties. Alternatively, run 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to see the exact build number.Affected if The system runs Windows 10 (versions 20h2, 21h1, 21h2, 22h2, 1607, 1809), Windows 11 (22h2), Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows Rt 8.1, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, or Windows Server 2016.
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Verify Windows Media components are presentCheck if Media Foundation DLLs exist on the system. Run 'dir C:\Windows\System32\mf*.dll' to list Media Foundation files. Common files include mf.dll, mfplat.dll, mfreadwrite.dll.Affected if One or more Media Foundation DLLs (mf.dll, mfplat.dll, mfreadwrite.dll) exist in the System32 folder, indicating the vulnerable component is installed.
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Check for the security update KB5020039Open Control Panel > Programs and Features > View installed updates, or run 'wmic qfe get hotfixid,installedon' from command prompt. Look for security update KB5020039.Affected if The security update KB5020039 is NOT listed among installed updates, meaning the system is missing the patch for this vulnerability.
Your system is affected if it runs an affected Windows version listed above, has Windows Media components installed, and lacks the KB5020039 security update.
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 · scopedApply the relevant Microsoft security update for this vulnerability (KB5020039 or subsequent updates) to all affected Windows systems. Until patched, exercise caution when opening media files from untrusted sources.
- Open Windows Update settings on the affected Windows system
- Check for and install all available security updates for December 2022
- After updates are installed, restart the system to complete the remediation
- Verify the update was installed by checking the installed updates list
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-44667 — 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-2022-44667 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