CVE-2022-44689 [High] | Privilege Escalation in Windows Subsystem For Linux

CVE-2022-44689 is rated Moderate Risk (42.7/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.47%). Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-06-15	1.93%	0.47%	-1.46%
2	2025-12-17	2.24%	1.93%	-0.31%
3	2025-12-16	—	2.24%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-06-15

1.93%

0.47%

-1.46%

2025-12-17

2.24%

1.93%

-0.31%

2025-12-16

—

2.24%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
7.8	3.1	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:L) A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	1.8	5.9	[email protected]
7.8	3.1	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:L) A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	1.8	5.9	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

7.8

3.1

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L): A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

1.8

5.9

[email protected]

7.8

3.1

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L): A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

1.8

5.9

[email protected]

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-44689

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
microsoft	windows_subsystem_for_linux	—	cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:windows_subsystem_for_linux:-:::::::*
microsoft	windows_10	20h2	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10:20h2:::::::*
microsoft	windows_10	21h1	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10:21h1:::::::*
microsoft	windows_10	21h2	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10:21h2:::::::*
microsoft	windows_10	22h2	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10:22h2:::::::*
microsoft	windows_10	1809	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10:1809:::::::*
microsoft	windows_11	—	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_11:-::::::arm64:
microsoft	windows_11	—	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_11:-::::::x64:
microsoft	windows_11	22h2	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_11:22h2::::::arm64:
microsoft	windows_11	22h2	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_11:22h2::::::x64:
microsoft	windows_server_2019	—	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2019:-:::::::*
microsoft	windows_server_2022	—	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2022:-:::::::*
microsoft	windows_server_2022	—	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2022:-::::azure:::

References for CVE-2022-44689

URL	Tags
https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2022-44689
https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2022-44689	Patch Vendor Advisory

URL

CVE-2022-44689 | Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL2) Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2022-44689

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2022-44689

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2022-44689

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2022-44689

References for CVE-2022-44689