dbcve.org
Windows 10 1607Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2023-21537

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Developing 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
Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ) 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 · low confidence

This is a local Elevation of Privilege vulnerability in Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ). The high CVSS score (7.8) indicates that an authenticated local attacker could exploit MSMQ to gain higher-level system privileges, potentially achieving administrator or SYSTEM-level access.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for CVE-2023-21537 through Windows Update or WSUS. If MSMQ is not required in the environment, disable or remove the component to eliminate the attack surface.

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 11 21h2Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 11 22h2Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 7Operating 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. Check Windows version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to identify the Windows version
    Affected if The version matches any of the affected versions listed (Windows 10 1607, 1809, 20h2, 21h2, 22h2; Windows 11 21h2, 22h2; Windows 7)
  2. Verify MSMQ component is installed
    Run 'Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName MSMQ' in PowerShell, or check registry key 'HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSMQ'
    Affected if The feature state shows as 'Enabled' or the registry key exists, indicating MSMQ is installed
  3. Confirm MSMQ service exists and running
    Run 'Get-Service -Name MSMQ' in PowerShell
    Affected if The service exists (whether running or stopped) - presence of the service means the component is installed
  4. Check MSMQ installation via Programs and Features
    Open 'appwiz.cpl', click 'Turn Windows features on or off', and look for 'Microsoft Message Queue (MSMQ) Server'
    Affected if The MSMQ checkbox is checked/enabled

The system is affected if it runs an affected Windows version AND has MSMQ installed (component present), regardless of whether the MSMQ service is currently running

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 Microsoft security updates for CVE-2023-21537 through Windows Update or WSUS. If MSMQ is not required in the environment, disable or remove the component to eliminate the attack surface.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Install the January 2023 Windows security update containing the CVE-2023-21537 patch

  1. Open Windows Update (Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update)
  2. Check for updates and install all available security updates
  3. If the MSMQ vulnerability patch (CVE-2023-21537) is not offered via Windows Update, manually download it from the Microsoft Update Catalog (catalog.update.microsoft.com) by searching for the CVE number
  4. Restart the system after installing the update
  5. Verify the update was installed by checking Windows Update history
Caveat Some older Windows versions listed (Windows 7, Windows 10 1607) are end-of-life and may not receive official patches; consider upgrading to a supported Windows version

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
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

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-2023-21537 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