# CVE-2023-32012: Windows Container Manager Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

> An attacker can exploit a symlink vulnerability in the Windows Container Manager Service to gain elevated privileges on the host system.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`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`)
- **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:** 13 Jun 2023
- **Updated:** 1 Jan 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-rr3g-r32r-gwr9

## What is CVE-2023-32012?

CVE-2023-32012 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 10 21h2, published on 13 Jun 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Windows Container Manager Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Weakness: CWE-59 (Improper Link Resolution Before File Access)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-32012?

It affects 4 products.


Products: Microsoft Windows 10 21h2, Microsoft Windows 10 22h2, Microsoft Windows 11 21h2, Microsoft Windows 11 22h2.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-32012?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-32012 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-32012 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-32012 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows 10 21h2

- [CVE-2025-21333](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-21333/): Microsoft Windows Hyper-V NT Kernel Integration VSP Heap-based Buffer Overflow (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-21334](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-21334/): Microsoft Windows Hyper-V NT Kernel Integration VSP Use-After-Free (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2025-21335](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-21335/): Microsoft Windows Hyper-V NT Kernel Integration VSP Use-After-Free (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-42904](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-42904/): Windows TCP/IP Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability (critical 9.6)
- [CVE-2026-105733](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-105733/): Windows Hyper-V Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-32012 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-32012 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 10 21h2, published on 13 Jun 2023. 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-2023-32012 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Microsoft Windows 10 21h2. 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-2023-32012/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-32012/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-32012
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-32012
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-32012

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-32012/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.