CVE-2022-41091
Access Control in Microsoft Windows 10 1507 ≤ 10.0.10240.19567
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:LCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2022-41091 is a medium-severity Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863) vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 10 1507. Its CVSS base score is 5.4 (Medium).
Operationally, ranked in the top 22% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2022-41091 is a security feature bypass vulnerability in the Windows Mark of the Web (MOTW) mechanism, which applies security identifiers to files originating from the internet or other untrusted zones. The flaw affects multiple Windows versions and allows certain file-handling operations to circumvent MOTW protections without requiring elevated privileges.
An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit the issue by supplying a specially crafted file that triggers the bypass when opened or processed by a user. Successful exploitation results in limited impact, enabling modification of local files or disruption of availability while leaving confidentiality intact, as reflected in the CVSS vector.
Microsoft's advisory at msrc.microsoft.com directs administrators to apply the security updates released on November 8, 2022. The vulnerability is also catalogued in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list, confirming active exploitation in the wild and underscoring the need for prompt patching.
EPSS scores have remained in a narrow band between 0.0634 and a peak of 0.0757, indicating moderate but stable exploitation interest without a pronounced post-disclosure surge.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2022-44334
Vulnerability Data
Windows Mark of the Web Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 08 November 2022
Related Threats
CVEs Like This One
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.
Periodic review and update of procedures reduces incorrect authorization implementations over time.
Supervision identifies cases where authorization logic incorrectly permits unauthorized actions.
Defining permitted attribute values and auditing modifications reduces the chance of incorrect authorization outcomes due to tampered or missing labels.
The authorization process and usage restrictions help prevent incorrect authorization for remote access types.
Establishing configuration and connection requirements helps ensure correct rather than incorrect authorization for wireless access.
Establishing connection authorization processes for mobile devices helps ensure authorization decisions are correctly implemented rather than incorrect.
Monitoring account use, notifying on changes, and reviewing accounts for compliance corrects incorrect authorization assignments.
Ensures authorization decisions for external system use are correctly implemented and enforced.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Requiring consistency between access rights and classification plus formal approval steps ensures that the authorization logic correctly distinguishes between entities that should and should not be granted access.
A.5.18's provisioning, revocation, review and adjustment of access rights (incl. before role changes/termination, with segregation and owner approval) directly stops incorrect authorization decisions from being exploitable in the vast majority of cases; the bounded remainder is incorrectness inside the authorization logic itself (e.g. flawed conditional or missing check) rather than rights that were wrongly granted.
A.8.3 directly mandates restricting access to information per policies via configuration, identity/group controls, isolation, and dynamic techniques that enforce correct authorization decisions, addressing most but not all slices of CWE-863 (e.g., remainder in non-access-decision authorization errors like timing or environmental factors).
Hardening callouts derived
DISA STIG baselines are authored against specific weaknesses. Where this CVE cites a broad weakness class, the mapping is not asserted at that abstraction (owner ruling, 2026-09-25: grade only at Base and below), so no rule is shown here rather than a rule shown against the wrong grain.
- No fine-grained STIG row for CWE-863, a class-level weakness, and none of its children carries one either.