CVE-2022-44697
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 Graphics Component 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 confidenceCVE-2022-44697 is an Elevation of Privilege vulnerability in the Windows Graphics Component that allows an authenticated attacker to gain higher-level system privileges. The vulnerability stems from improper validation of inputs within the graphics rendering subsystem.
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 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
- 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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Identify Windows version and buildRun 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to display the installed Windows version and build numberAffected if The installed version matches any of the affected versions listed: Windows 10 (20h2, 21h1, 21h2, 22h2, 1607, 1809), Windows 11 (22h2), Windows 7, 8.1, Rt 8.1, Windows Server 2008/2008 R2, Server 2012/2012 R2, or Server 2016
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Verify security update is installedOpen Control Panel > Programs > View installed updates, or run 'Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.Description -like "Security Update"}' in PowerShell, and look for the December 2022 security update addressing this CVE (typically KB5020030 for Windows 10 21h2)Affected if The specific security update for CVE-2022-44697 is NOT installed on the system
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Confirm graphics component is presentCheck that the Windows Graphics Component (dxgkrnl.sys, dxgi.dll, or similar graphics drivers/DLLs) exists by verifying the presence of %SystemRoot%\System32\dxgkrnl.sys or running 'driverquery /v | findstr -i dxg'Affected if The graphics component drivers are present and the system is not patched (this vulnerability affects any Windows system with the graphics subsystem enabled)
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Check for unpatched graphics subsystemRun 'sfc /scannow' and review the results for any graphics-related component errors, or check the Event Viewer for Windows Graphics Component errors after the vulnerability disclosure dateAffected if The system shows graphics component errors or the vulnerability remains unmitigated
The system is affected if it runs any Windows version listed as affected and does not have the December 2022 security update for CVE-2022-44697 installed.
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.
From vendor dataApply the Microsoft security update released for this vulnerability via Windows Update or manual patch deployment to affected Windows systems.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-44697 — 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-2022-44697 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