dbcve.org
Windows 10 1607Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2023-21542

HIGH · 7.0 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 →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 Installer 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-2023-21542 is a Windows Installer Elevation of Privilege (EoP) vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7 (HIGH). The vulnerability allows an attacker to gain elevated privileges through the Windows Installer service, potentially enabling execution with higher system permissions than the attacker's current context.

MitigationApply Microsoft security patches for CVE-2023-21542 via Windows Update or manual KB download, followed by testing to ensure Windows Installer functionality remains intact.

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 7Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Rt 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2008Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2
Windows Server 2012Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2
Windows Server 2016Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2019Operating 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
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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 and edition
    Run 'winver' from the Run dialog or execute 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' in Command Prompt
    Affected if The reported version matches any of: Windows 10 1607, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows Rt 8.1, Windows Server 2008/R2, Windows Server 2012/R2, Windows Server 2016, or Windows Server 2019
  2. Check Windows Installer executable version
    Locate msiexec.exe in System32 (typically C:\Windows\System32\msiexec.exe), right-click and select Properties, then view the Details tab for the File Version
    Affected if The version is older than the patched version for this CVE - compare against the version shipped with the security update released in early 2023 for your specific Windows version
  3. Verify installed security updates for Windows Installer
    Open Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features > View installed updates, or run 'wmic qfe list' in Command Prompt, search for updates dated January or February 2023 related to Windows Installer or CVE-2023-21542
    Affected if No security update addressing CVE-2023-21542 is listed among installed updates
  4. Confirm Windows Installer service status
    Open Services (services.msc), locate the Windows Installer service, and verify the service is present and its Startup type is set (any setting including Disabled)
    Affected if The Windows Installer service exists on the system - the vulnerability affects how the service handles certain installation operations when exploited
  5. Check for presence of related CVEs in same patch cycle
    Review installed updates for January or February 2023 Microsoft security bulletins, particularly KB5019179 through KB5019183 which contained this fix
    Affected if System has not received the January 2023 or February 2023 Microsoft security updates that included the CVE-2023-21542 fix

Your system is likely affected if it runs any of the listed Windows versions (10 1607, 7, 8.1, Server 2008/2012/2016/2019) and lacks the corresponding security updates from early 2023 that address this Windows Installer elevation of privilege vulnerability.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Microsoft security patches for CVE-2023-21542 via Windows Update or manual KB download, followed by testing to ensure Windows Installer functionality remains intact.

Fix this in Windows 10 1607 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-21542 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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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-2023-21542 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