CVE-2022-22024
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2022-22024 is a remote code execution vulnerability in the Windows Fax Service that allows an attacker to execute arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges on affected systems. This affects Windows servers and workstations running vulnerable versions of Windows. An attacker could exploit this by sending specially crafted packets to the Fax Service.
💻 Affected Systems
- Windows Fax Service
📦 What is this software?
Windows 10 by Microsoft
Windows 10 by Microsoft
Windows 10 by Microsoft
Windows 10 by Microsoft
Windows 10 by Microsoft
Windows 10 by Microsoft
Windows 10 by Microsoft
Windows 10 by Microsoft
Windows 10 by Microsoft
Windows 10 by Microsoft
Windows 10 by Microsoft
Windows 10 by Microsoft
Windows 10 by Microsoft
Windows 10 by Microsoft
Windows 11 by Microsoft
Windows 11 by Microsoft
Windows 7 by Microsoft
Windows 7 by Microsoft
Windows 8.1 by Microsoft
Windows 8.1 by Microsoft
Windows Rt 8.1 by Microsoft
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Full system compromise with SYSTEM privileges, enabling lateral movement, data exfiltration, ransomware deployment, or complete system takeover.
Likely Case
Initial foothold leading to privilege escalation, persistence establishment, and potential lateral movement within the network.
If Mitigated
Limited impact due to network segmentation, restricted service access, or exploit prevention controls blocking the attack vector.
🎯 Exploit Status
Microsoft has not disclosed technical details. Exploitation requires network access to the Fax Service port.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: July 2022 security updates
Vendor Advisory: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2022-22024
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Apply July 2022 Windows security updates via Windows Update. 2. For enterprise environments, deploy updates through WSUS or SCCM. 3. Restart affected systems after patch installation.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Windows Fax Service
windowsDisables the vulnerable service to prevent exploitation
sc stop Fax
sc config Fax start= disabled
Block Fax Service Port
windowsBlocks network access to Fax Service default port
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="Block Fax Service" dir=in action=block protocol=TCP localport=445
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable Windows Fax Service if not required
- Implement network segmentation to restrict access to Fax Service
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if Fax Service is running and system has not applied July 2022 security updatesCheck Version:
systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"Verify Fix Applied:
Verify July 2022 security updates are installed and Fax Service is either patched or disabled📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected Fax Service process creation
- Network connections to Fax Service port from unusual sources
- Security event logs showing service manipulation
Network Indicators:
- Unusual traffic to TCP port 445 (Fax Service default)
- Malformed packets to Fax Service
SIEM Query:
EventID=4688 AND ProcessName="faxsvc.exe" AND CommandLine CONTAINS suspicious