CVE-2022-22034
Published: 12 July 2022
Summary
CVE-2022-22034 is a high-severity Use After Free (CWE-416) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 10. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).
Operationally, ranked in the top 28.8% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
Deeper analysis
CVE-2022-22034 is an elevation-of-privilege vulnerability in the Windows Graphics Component that stems from a use-after-free condition (CWE-416). It affects supported Windows releases and carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 reflecting local attack vector, low attack complexity, and low privileges required.
An authenticated local attacker can trigger the flaw without user interaction to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges, resulting in full control over confidentiality, integrity, and availability on the affected system.
Microsoft’s security update guide entries for the CVE direct administrators to install the patches released on the July 2022 Patch Tuesday, which remediate the underlying memory-safety issue in the graphics component.
EPSS for the vulnerability rose from a low baseline to a peak of 0.1228 on 2025-01-22 before receding to the current value of 0.0065, indicating a period of increased exploitation interest well after initial disclosure.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2022-27188
Vulnerability details
Windows Graphics Component Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Use-after-free exploits that achieve arbitrary code execution are blocked or significantly hardened by non-executable pages and ASLR.