CVE-2022-35746
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2022-35746 is an elevation of privilege vulnerability in Windows Digital Media Receiver that allows authenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges. This affects Windows systems where the Digital Media Receiver feature is enabled. Attackers need local access to exploit this vulnerability.
💻 Affected Systems
- Windows 10
- Windows 11
- Windows Server 2019
- Windows Server 2022
📦 What is this software?
Windows 10 1507 by Microsoft
Windows 10 1507 by Microsoft
Windows 10 1607 by Microsoft
Windows 10 1607 by Microsoft
Windows 10 1809 by Microsoft
Windows 10 20h2 by Microsoft
Windows 10 21h1 by Microsoft
Windows 10 21h2 by Microsoft
Windows 11 21h2 by Microsoft
Windows 8.1 by Microsoft
Windows Rt 8.1 by Microsoft
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attacker gains full SYSTEM privileges, enabling complete system compromise, data theft, persistence establishment, and lateral movement across the network.
Likely Case
Local authenticated attacker escalates privileges to SYSTEM to install malware, steal credentials, or bypass security controls.
If Mitigated
With proper access controls and patch management, risk is limited to authorized users who would need to bypass additional security layers.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires local authenticated access and specific conditions to trigger the vulnerability.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: August 2022 security updates (KB5016616 for Windows 10, KB5016623 for Windows 11)
Vendor Advisory: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2022-35746
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Apply August 2022 Windows security updates via Windows Update. 2. For enterprise environments, deploy through WSUS or SCCM. 3. Restart systems after patch installation.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Digital Media Receiver
windowsDisable the vulnerable Digital Media Receiver feature to prevent exploitation
Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName "MediaPlayback"
dism /online /disable-feature /featurename:MediaPlayback
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict access controls to limit local authenticated access to critical systems
- Enable Windows Defender Exploit Guard and configure Attack Surface Reduction rules
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if August 2022 security updates are installed via 'systeminfo' command or Windows Update historyCheck Version:
wmic qfe list | findstr KB5016616 or wmic qfe list | findstr KB5016623Verify Fix Applied:
Verify KB5016616 (Windows 10) or KB5016623 (Windows 11) is installed in Installed Updates📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Event ID 4688 with process creation from Digital Media Receiver components
- Unexpected SYSTEM privilege escalation events
Network Indicators:
- Unusual outbound connections from systems after local privilege escalation
SIEM Query:
EventID=4688 AND (ProcessName="*dmr*" OR CommandLine="*dmr*")