{"id":"CVE-2022-37969","published":"2022-09-13T19:15:12Z","modified":"2026-09-10T04:17:35Z","title":"Microsoft Windows Common Log File System (CLFS) Driver Privilege Escalation Vulnerability","vendor":"Microsoft","product":"Windows","tier":"core","eol":null,"description":{"text":"Windows Common Log File System Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"summary":{"text":"The flaw is an elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Common Log File System (CLFS) driver, a component of Microsoft Windows, caused by out-of-bounds write and improper input validation. An attacker with local access and low-privileged credentials can exploit it without any user interaction to gain elevated privileges on the affected system.","provenance":"ai","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","generatedAt":"2026-10-23T07:05:31Z"},"cvss":{"score":7.8,"severity":"HIGH","version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"epss":{"score":0.28483,"percentile":0.98123,"date":"2026-10-29","provenance":"source"},"kev":{"dateAdded":"2022-09-14","dueDate":"2022-10-05","ransomware":true,"requiredAction":"Apply updates per vendor instructions.","notes":"https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/en-US/vulnerability/CVE-2022-37969;  https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-37969","provenance":"source"},"vulncheckKev":{"dateAdded":"2022-09-13","exploitedFirstSeen":"2022-09-13","ransomware":true,"evidence":[{"url":"https://api.msrc.microsoft.com/cvrf/v3.0/cvrf/2022-Sep","date":"2022-09-13"},{"url":"https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2022-37969","date":"2022-09-13"},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json","date":"2022-09-14"},{"url":"https://www.zscaler.com/blogs/security-research/technical-analysis-windows-clfs-zero-day-vulnerability-cve-2022-37969-part","date":"2022-10-14"},{"url":"https://www.zscaler.com/blogs/security-research/technical-analysis-windows-clfs-zero-day-vulnerability-cve-2022-37969-part2-exploit-analysis","date":"2022-10-28"},{"url":"https://securelist.com/windows-clfs-exploits-ransomware-september-2022/111584/","date":"2023-12-21"},{"url":"https://securelist.com/windows-clfs-exploits-ransomware/111560/","date":"2023-12-21"},{"url":"https://therecord.media/fbi-says-bianlian-based-in-russia-switching-tactics","date":"2024-11-20"},{"url":"https://www.ic3.gov/CSA/2024/241120.pdf","date":"2024-11-20"},{"url":"https://attackerkb.com/topics/ZMtSR5b70g/cve-2022-37969","date":"2024-11-22"}],"evidenceTotal":13,"provenance":"source"},"exploited":true,"otx":{"pulseCount":50,"pulses":[{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 29, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae20c1db17e7057ae7d9ad1","created":"2026-10-28"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 28, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae0ba7e0e2a97ff7b218819","created":"2026-10-27"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 27, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adf68b85c3e852f3c111d18","created":"2026-10-26"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 24, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adb740e397c3ad4799aa4cd","created":"2026-10-23"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 23, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ada236fcfba2dfa730ea482","created":"2026-10-22"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 22, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad8d33a077cbb5cab524d80","created":"2026-10-21"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 21, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad78130c4d1ac2be83a8b6d","created":"2026-10-20"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 20, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad62f63c24a405a3423cc13","created":"2026-10-19"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 19, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad4dda174e5797d0bd238b7","created":"2026-10-18"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 18, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad38c22e1848f8189d1c121","created":"2026-10-17"}],"provenance":"machine"},"cwes":[{"id":"CWE-787","name":"Out-of-bounds Write"},{"id":"CWE-20","name":"Improper Input Validation"}],"references":[{"url":"https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2022-37969","tags":["Patch","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2022-37969","tags":["Patch","Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2022-37969","tags":["US Government Resource"]}],"techniques":[{"id":"T1078","name":"Valid Accounts","tactics":["initial-access","persistence","privilege-escalation","stealth"],"provenance":"source","basis":"ctid-kev","bases":["ctid-kev"],"basisDetail":"CTID Mappings Explorer KEV 07/28/2025 (ATT&CK 16.1); capability: Privilege Escalation","mappingType":"exploitation_technique","evidence":[],"comment":"This vulnerability is exploited by an attacker who has obtained access to the target system. The vulnerability lies in the Windows Common Log File System (CLFS) Driver, specifically due to improper bounds checking on the `cbSymbolZone` field in the Base Record Header for the base log file (BLF). This vulnerability has been exploited by threat actors to gain elevated privileges on Windows systems. Attackers leveraged this flaw to execute arbitrary system commands, allowing them to manipulate system processes and potentially deploy additional malware or perform further malicious activities.\n\nThe exploit in question is actively being used in the wild, primarily in targeted attacks. It involves setting the `cbSymbolZone` field to an invalid offset, triggering an out-of-bound write that corrupts a pointer to the CClfsContainer object. Once the vulnerability is exploited, attackers can manipulate memory to perform arbitrary actions with SYSTEM-level privileges. This allows them to achieve their objectives, such as disabling security applications and gaining full control over the compromised system.","confidence":"high"},{"id":"T1068","name":"Exploitation for Privilege Escalation","tactics":["privilege-escalation"],"provenance":"source","basis":"ctid-kev","bases":["ctid-kev"],"basisDetail":"CTID Mappings Explorer KEV 07/28/2025 (ATT&CK 16.1); capability: Privilege Escalation","mappingType":"primary_impact","evidence":[],"comment":"This vulnerability is exploited by an attacker who has obtained access to the target system. The vulnerability lies in the Windows Common Log File System (CLFS) Driver, specifically due to improper bounds checking on the `cbSymbolZone` field in the Base Record Header for the base log file (BLF). This vulnerability has been exploited by threat actors to gain elevated privileges on Windows systems. Attackers leveraged this flaw to execute arbitrary system commands, allowing them to manipulate system processes and potentially deploy additional malware or perform further malicious activities.\n\nThe exploit in question is actively being used in the wild, primarily in targeted attacks. It involves setting the `cbSymbolZone` field to an invalid offset, triggering an out-of-bound write that corrupts a pointer to the CClfsContainer object. Once the vulnerability is exploited, attackers can manipulate memory to perform arbitrary actions with SYSTEM-level privileges. This allows them to achieve their objectives, such as disabling security applications and gaining full control over the compromised system.","confidence":"high"},{"id":"T1059","name":"Command and Scripting Interpreter","tactics":["execution"],"provenance":"source","basis":"ctid-kev","bases":["ctid-kev"],"basisDetail":"CTID Mappings Explorer KEV 07/28/2025 (ATT&CK 16.1); capability: Privilege Escalation","mappingType":"secondary_impact","evidence":[],"comment":"This vulnerability is exploited by an attacker who has obtained access to the target system. The vulnerability lies in the Windows Common Log File System (CLFS) Driver, specifically due to improper bounds checking on the `cbSymbolZone` field in the Base Record Header for the base log file (BLF). This vulnerability has been exploited by threat actors to gain elevated privileges on Windows systems. Attackers leveraged this flaw to execute arbitrary system commands, allowing them to manipulate system processes and potentially deploy additional malware or perform further malicious activities.\n\nThe exploit in question is actively being used in the wild, primarily in targeted attacks. It involves setting the `cbSymbolZone` field to an invalid offset, triggering an out-of-bound write that corrupts a pointer to the CClfsContainer object. Once the vulnerability is exploited, attackers can manipulate memory to perform arbitrary actions with SYSTEM-level privileges. This allows them to achieve their objectives, such as disabling security applications and gaining full control over the compromised system.","confidence":"high"}],"reports":[],"affected":[],"advisories":[],"euvd":{"id":"EUVD-2022-40576","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2022-40576","exploited":true,"exploitedSince":"2022-09-14","provenance":"source"},"exploits":[],"exploitSources":{"pocGithub":{"count":5,"skipped":1,"earliest":"2023-03-09","earliestUrl":"https://github.com/fortra/CVE-2022-37969","repos":[{"name":"fortra/CVE-2022-37969","url":"https://github.com/fortra/CVE-2022-37969","stars":134,"created":"2023-03-09"},{"name":"NoobCat2000/CVE-2022-37969","url":"https://github.com/NoobCat2000/CVE-2022-37969","stars":2,"created":"2025-07-06"},{"name":"EmilC3978/CVE-2022-37969PoC","url":"https://github.com/EmilC3978/CVE-2022-37969PoC","stars":2,"created":"2025-11-25"},{"name":"grass341/CVE-2022-37969","url":"https://github.com/grass341/CVE-2022-37969","stars":1,"created":"2025-06-14"},{"name":"uname1able/CVE-2022-37969","url":"https://github.com/uname1able/CVE-2022-37969","stars":0,"created":"2026-02-20"}]},"first":{"date":"2023-03-09","source":"PoC-in-GitHub","url":"https://github.com/fortra/CVE-2022-37969"},"provenance":"source"},"exploitRefs":[],"flow":[{"stage":"exploitation","techniques":["T1078"],"provenance":"source"},{"stage":"primary","techniques":["T1068"],"provenance":"source"},{"stage":"secondary","techniques":["T1059"],"provenance":"source"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2022-09-13","kind":"published","label":"Published (NVD)","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-37969","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2022-09-13","kind":"exploited-reported","label":"Exploitation first reported (VulnCheck KEV evidence)","url":"https://api.msrc.microsoft.com/cvrf/v3.0/cvrf/2022-Sep","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2022-09-14","kind":"kev","label":"Added to CISA KEV (known ransomware use)","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2022-09-14","kind":"euvd-exploited","label":"ENISA EUVD: exploited","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2022-40576","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2023-03-09","kind":"exploit-public","label":"First public exploit: PoC-in-GitHub","url":"https://github.com/fortra/CVE-2022-37969","provenance":"source"}],"speed":{"daysToPublicExploit":177,"firstExploitFrom":"PoC-in-GitHub","daysToKev":1},"priority":{"score":78.1,"factors":[{"name":"In a KEV catalog","points":35.0,"detail":"listed in CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV"},{"name":"Recent KEV listing","points":0.0,"detail":"added 1507 days ago"},{"name":"Known ransomware use","points":10.0,"detail":"CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV: Known"},{"name":"EPSS percentile","points":19.62,"detail":"percentile 0.9812"},{"name":"Named in threat reports","points":0.0,"detail":"0 reports"},{"name":"Public exploit code","points":5.0,"detail":"5 PoC-in-GitHub repos"},{"name":"Mentioned in OTX pulses","points":3.0,"detail":"50 pulses"},{"name":"CVSS severity","points":5.46,"detail":"base score 7.8"},{"name":"End-of-life product","points":0.0,"detail":"supported or unknown"}]},"lineage":{"familyId":"fam-class-microsoft-windows-cwe-787"}}