How severe is CVE-2022-44698?

CVE-2022-44698 has a CVSS score of 5.4/10, rated MEDIUM. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which products are affected by CVE-2022-44698?

CVE-2022-44698 affects the following products: microsoft windows 10 20h2, microsoft windows 10 21h1, microsoft windows 10 21h2, microsoft windows 10 22h2, microsoft windows 10 1607, microsoft windows 10 1809, microsoft windows 11 21h2, microsoft windows server 2016, and 2 more.

How do I patch CVE-2022-44698?

Apply the microsoft windows 10 20h2 security patch or hotfix for CVE-2022-44698 on the affected version, following the vendor advisory for your exact build.

How do I detect CVE-2022-44698 across my infrastructure?

Inventory every microsoft windows 10 20h2 deployment and check each version against the affected-products list above.

How do I mitigate CVE-2022-44698 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands. Alongside that, restrict the management interface to trusted networks and apply the vendor's recommended configuration mitigations.

Is CVE-2022-44698 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 2 known exploit references for CVE-2022-44698, including 2 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2022-44698?

CVE-2022-44698 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 76.3%, placing it in the 100th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Is CVE-2022-44698 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2022-44698 (Microsoft Defender SmartScreen Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2022-12-13. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2023-01-03. The required action was: Apply updates per vendor instructions. This CVE has been used in known ransomware campaigns. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2022-44698?

CVE-2022-44698 affects microsoft windows 10 20h2; microsoft windows 10 21h1; microsoft windows 10 21h2; microsoft windows 10 22h2, and 6 more product(s). Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

When was CVE-2022-44698 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2022-44698 was published on December 13, 2022 and was last updated on June 17, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🛡️

CISA KEV · ACTIVELY EXPLOITED

MEDIUM severity

CVE-2022-44698 — Windows 10 20h2

MEDIUM

CVE-2022-44698 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.4) vulnerability in microsoft windows 10 20h2. It is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-12-13) and has been used in ransomware campaigns — treat it as actively exploited and patch now. A fix is available — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Windows SmartScreen Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

Published

Dec 13, 2022

Updated

Jun 17, 2026

Affected

10 products

Patched

See advisory

Exploits

2 known

Exploitation data as of Oct 22, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

Actively exploited in the wild

Confirmed by CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2022-12-13 — including use in ransomware campaigns. Federal agencies were required to remediate by 2023-01-03.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA (KEV catalog and SSVC triage) for CVE-2022-44698.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

76.3%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs100th percentile — riskier than 100% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2022-44698 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). Outside the shaded patch-first corner.

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 395,249 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 50–90% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Description

Windows SmartScreen Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

Affected Products

10 products · 10 configurations

windows 10 20h2microsoft

< 10.0.19042.2364

range

windows 10 21h1microsoft

< 10.0.19043.2364

range

windows 10 21h2microsoft

< 10.0.19044.2364

range

windows 10 22h2microsoft

< 10.0.19045.2364

range

windows 10 1607microsoft

< 10.0.14393.5582

range

windows 10 1809microsoft

< 10.0.17763.3770

range

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

Windows SmartScreen Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

portal.msrc.microsoft.comMSDec 2022

Windows SmartScreen Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

cisa.govCISADec 2022

Detection & mitigation playbook

Vendor / appliance

Detect
Inventory every microsoft windows 10 20h2 deployment and check each version against the affected-products list above.
Fix
Apply the microsoft windows 10 20h2 security patch or hotfix for CVE-2022-44698 on the affected version, following the vendor advisory for your exact build.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands. Alongside that, restrict the management interface to trusted networks and apply the vendor's recommended configuration mitigations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Windows SmartScreen Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability

O3 Security · Runtime Protection

Is CVE-2022-44698 being exploited in your environment?

Detect and block the exploit chain at execution, on systems you cannot patch yet.

Protect my workloads How runtime protection works

CVE-2022-44698 — Windows 10 20h2

Exploitation Status

Actively exploited in the wild

EPSS Exploitation Probability

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Description

Affected Products

Detection & mitigation playbook

Detect

Fix

Workarounds

Frequently Asked Questions

Is CVE-2022-44698 being exploited in your environment?