CVE-2022-35750
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2022-35750 is a Win32k elevation of privilege vulnerability in Windows that allows an authenticated attacker to gain SYSTEM-level privileges on a compromised system. This affects Windows operating systems and requires an attacker to already have some level of access to the target machine. Successful exploitation enables complete system takeover.
💻 Affected Systems
- Microsoft Windows
📦 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 1809 by Microsoft
Windows 10 1809 by Microsoft
Windows 10 20h2 by Microsoft
Windows 10 20h2 by Microsoft
Windows 10 20h2 by Microsoft
Windows 10 21h1 by Microsoft
Windows 10 21h1 by Microsoft
Windows 10 21h1 by Microsoft
Windows 11 21h2 by Microsoft
Windows 11 21h2 by Microsoft
Windows 7 by Microsoft
Windows 8.1 by Microsoft
Windows Rt 8.1 by Microsoft
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise with SYSTEM privileges, enabling installation of persistent malware, credential theft, lateral movement, and disabling of security controls.
Likely Case
Local privilege escalation from a standard user or service account to SYSTEM, allowing attackers to bypass security restrictions and maintain persistence.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper patch management and least privilege principles are followed, though initial compromise could still occur.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires authenticated access to the system. Exploit code has been publicly released, increasing likelihood of weaponization.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: August 2022 security updates (KB5016616 for Windows 10, KB5016623 for Windows 11, etc.)
Vendor Advisory: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2022-35750
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Apply August 2022 Windows security updates via Windows Update. 2. For enterprise environments, deploy updates through WSUS, SCCM, or Intune. 3. Restart systems after patch installation.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict local user privileges
windowsImplement least privilege by ensuring users operate with standard user accounts rather than administrative privileges.
Enable Windows Defender Exploit Guard
windowsConfigure Exploit Guard to mitigate privilege escalation attempts.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement application control policies to restrict execution of unauthorized binaries
- Segment networks to limit lateral movement and contain potential breaches
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if August 2022 security updates are installed via 'wmic qfe list' or 'Get-Hotfix' in PowerShell.Check Version:
systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"Verify Fix Applied:
Verify KB5016616 (Windows 10) or KB5016623 (Windows 11) or equivalent Server patches are installed.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Event ID 4688 with suspicious parent processes
- Unexpected privilege escalation events in Security logs
- Process creation from unusual locations
Network Indicators:
- Lateral movement attempts following local compromise
- Unusual outbound connections from previously compromised systems
SIEM Query:
EventID=4688 AND (NewProcessName LIKE "%cmd.exe" OR NewProcessName LIKE "%powershell.exe") AND ParentProcessName IN ("explorer.exe", "svchost.exe") | stats count by Computer, ParentProcessName, NewProcessName