CVE-2023-21768: Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Advisory generated from the CVE record, CISA, Exploit Observer and VEDAS: what it is, whether it is exploited, who is affected, and how to fix and detect it.

Generated by VEDAS. Scores as of 2026-11-04 15:41 UTC. Rebuilt every few hours from cve-scores, CISA KEV and vedas-signatures. How this works and its limits.

What it is

Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Description quoted from the CVE record (assigned by microsoft, published 2023-01-10).

Weakness: CWE-822: Untrusted Pointer Dereference

How it can be exploited

Exploitable with local access with low attack complexity needing low privileges and no user interaction. Impact: confidentiality high, integrity high, availability high. CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C

CISA assessment (SSVC): CISA has no evidence of exploitation. Automatable: no. Technical impact: total.

Public exploit evidence (Exploit Observer)

Exploit Observer found 1 Metasploit module, 18 code repositories and 1 research write-up naming this CVE.

Code repositories that name a CVE are often scanners, copies or fakes, and some are malware. Read the code before running anything.

See all 26 references on Exploit Observer

Live scores

EPSS
0.654
very likely to be attacked soon
VEDAS
0.987
strong exploit evidence
On CISA KEV
Not listed
Detection rule
No public rule yet

Who is affected

ProductAffectedNot affected
Microsoft Windows Server 2022from 10.0.20348.0 before 10.0.20348.1487Not stated
Microsoft Windows 11 version 21H2from 10.0.0 before 10.0.22000.1455Not stated
Microsoft Windows 11 version 22H2from 10.0.22621.0 before 10.0.22621.1105Not stated

Version ranges exactly as the CVE record states them. “Before X” means X is the first fixed version.

How to fix it

Fixed versions stated in the CVE record: 10.0.20348.1487, 10.0.22000.1455, 10.0.22621.1105.

Vendor guidance:

How to detect it

There is no open VEDAS detection rule for this bug yet. It is listed on the detection gaps page if CISA has confirmed attacks.

Advisories on this CVE

References

Vendor advisories and patches

Other databases

Where this comes from

This advisory is generated automatically by VEDAS from: CVE.org record, cve-scores (EPSS and VEDAS), Exploit Observer. Text in quotes is reproduced from the source; everything else is a fixed template filled with source fields. Nothing here is written by a language model. Check the vendor advisory before acting, and read how VEDAS and Exploit Observer work, and their limits.

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