CVE-2022-29113
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows an authenticated attacker to execute code with SYSTEM privileges on Windows systems. It affects Windows Digital Media Receiver functionality, primarily impacting Windows 10 and Windows 11 systems where this feature is enabled.
💻 Affected Systems
- Windows 10
- Windows 11
- Windows Server 2022
📦 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 10 by Microsoft
Windows 11 by Microsoft
Windows 11 by Microsoft
Windows Server by Microsoft
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attacker gains full SYSTEM privileges, enabling complete system compromise, data theft, persistence installation, and lateral movement across the network.
Likely Case
Local authenticated attacker elevates privileges to SYSTEM level to bypass security controls, install malware, or access protected resources.
If Mitigated
With proper patch management and least privilege principles, impact is limited to isolated systems with minimal data exposure.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires local authenticated access. No public exploit code available as of knowledge cutoff.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: May 2022 security updates (KB5013942 for Windows 10 21H2, KB5013943 for Windows 11)
Vendor Advisory: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2022-29113
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Open Windows Update settings. 2. Check for updates. 3. Install May 2022 security updates. 4. Restart system when prompted.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Digital Media Receiver
windowsDisable the vulnerable Digital Media Receiver functionality via Group Policy or registry
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System" /v "EnableDMR" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict least privilege access controls to limit authenticated user capabilities
- Monitor for privilege escalation attempts using Windows Event Logs and security tools
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Windows version and if May 2022 security updates are installed via winver or systeminfoCheck Version:
systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"Verify Fix Applied:
Verify KB5013942 (Windows 10) or KB5013943 (Windows 11) is installed via Settings > Update & Security > View update history📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Event ID 4688 with privileged process creation
- Unexpected SYSTEM privilege processes from user accounts
Network Indicators:
- Unusual outbound connections from systems after privilege escalation
SIEM Query:
source="windows" event_id=4688 AND (process_name="cmd.exe" OR process_name="powershell.exe") AND integrity_level="System"