# CVE-2022-38014: Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL2) Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

> Attackers can exploit a race condition in the WSL2 kernel to elevate privileges on affected Windows systems.

- **Severity:** High 7.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 9 Nov 2022
- **Updated:** 10 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-m4gv-frxm-mf27

## What is CVE-2022-38014?

CVE-2022-38014 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Azure EFLOW, published on 9 Nov 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL2) Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Weakness: CWE-362 (Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-38014?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Microsoft Azure Iot Edge for Linux, Microsoft Windows Subsystem for Linux.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-38014?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-38014 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-38014 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-38014 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-38014 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-38014 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Azure EFLOW, published on 9 Nov 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-38014 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Microsoft Azure EFLOW. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-38014/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-38014/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-38014
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-38014
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-38014

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-38014/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.