dbcve.org
Windows 10 1607Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2023-21524

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-01-10
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 Local Security Authority (LSA) 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

CVE-2023-21524 is a Windows Local Security Authority (LSA) elevation of privilege vulnerability. Successful exploitation allows an attacker to gain elevated privileges on the affected system. The LSA handles security authentication and policy enforcement in Windows environments.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security update KB5002537 or subsequent relevant LSA patches to address this vulnerability. Ensure patches are tested in a non-production environment before broad deployment.

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 1607Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 1809Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 20h2Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 21h2Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 22h2Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 7Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Rt 8.1Operating 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
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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Windows version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to determine the installed Windows version and build number.
    Affected if The system runs Windows 10 versions 1607, 1809, 20h2, 21h2, or 22h2; Windows 7; Windows 8.1; or Windows Rt 8.1.
  2. Check for security update KB5002537
    Run 'wmic qfe list | findstr "KB5002537"' or open Control Panel > Programs > View installed updates and search for KB5002537.
    Affected if KB5002537 is NOT installed on the affected Windows version.
  3. Check for subsequent LSA-related patches
    Run 'wmic qfe list' to view all installed updates and manually search for any recent security patches related to LSA or the CVE date (January 2023 or later).
    Affected if No security updates from January 2023 or later addressing LSA vulnerabilities are installed.
  4. Verify LSA service status
    Run 'sc query lsass' to confirm the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (lsass.exe) is running, as this is the component vulnerable to the elevation of privilege.
    Affected if The LSA service is running on an unpatched, affected Windows version.

A system is affected if it runs any of the listed Windows versions (10 1607-22h2, 7, 8.1, Rt 8.1) and lacks security update KB5002537 or subsequent LSA patches from January 2023 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 KB5002537 or subsequent relevant LSA patches to address this vulnerability. Ensure patches are tested in a non-production environment before broad deployment.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Windows 10: upgrade to version 22H2 with latest cumulative update; Windows 8.1: upgrade to version 1809 or later with latest cumulative update; Windows 7: migrate to supported OS (no patch available - Windows 7 extended support ended January 2020)

  1. Open Windows Update (Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update) and check for available updates
  2. Install all pending Windows security updates, particularly those released after February 2023
  3. Alternatively, download the relevant security update from the Microsoft Update Catalog (catalog.update.microsoft.com) by searching for CVE-2023-21524 or the corresponding KB number (KB5001402, KB5003171, or subsequent security updates)
  4. Restart the system after applying the updates
  5. Verify the vulnerability is resolved by confirming the LSA security update is installed (check installed updates for the corresponding KB)
Caveat Windows 7 has no patch available (EOL); ensure compatibility testing before upgrading legacy systems

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

Fix this in Windows 10 1607 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,680
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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-2023-21524 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