CVE-2022-35764 in Windows
Summary
by MITRE • 08/10/2022
Storage Spaces Direct Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability. This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2022-35762, CVE-2022-35763, CVE-2022-35765, CVE-2022-35792.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/29/2025
The Storage Spaces Direct Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-35764 represents a critical security flaw within Microsoft Windows Server environments that specifically affects the Storage Spaces Direct feature. This vulnerability allows authenticated attackers with limited system privileges to escalate their access rights and gain elevated privileges within the targeted system. The flaw exists within the Windows Server Storage Spaces Direct implementation where proper access controls and privilege validation mechanisms fail to adequately restrict unauthorized privilege escalation attempts. Security researchers have identified this issue as particularly dangerous because it can be exploited by malicious actors who already have some level of access to the system, enabling them to move laterally and establish persistent control over enterprise storage infrastructure. The vulnerability affects Windows Server 2019 and Windows Server 2022 installations that have Storage Spaces Direct enabled, making it a significant concern for organizations relying on these storage solutions for critical data operations.
The technical root cause of CVE-2022-35764 stems from insufficient validation of access rights within the Storage Spaces Direct subsystem. When legitimate users or processes attempt to interact with storage spaces through the direct interface, the system fails to properly verify that the requesting entity has appropriate authorization levels for the requested operations. This weakness creates a privilege escalation path where an attacker with standard user credentials or limited administrative access can manipulate the system's privilege checking mechanisms. The vulnerability specifically manifests when the Storage Spaces Direct service processes certain API calls or configuration modifications that should require elevated privileges but instead accept requests from lower-privileged accounts. According to CWE classification, this vulnerability maps to CWE-276: Improper Privilege Management, which describes the inadequate handling of access control and privilege levels within software systems. The flaw demonstrates characteristics of improper access control where the system fails to enforce proper authorization checks during critical operations, allowing unauthorized escalation of privileges through legitimate system interfaces.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it can enable attackers to compromise entire storage infrastructures and potentially gain access to sensitive data repositories. Organizations using Storage Spaces Direct for critical workloads face significant risk since this vulnerability can be exploited to gain full control over storage resources, potentially leading to data theft, system corruption, or complete infrastructure compromise. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to modify storage configurations, create new storage pools, or manipulate existing storage spaces in ways that could disrupt business operations or provide backdoor access to enterprise networks. The exploitation of this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068: Exploitation for Privilege Escalation, where adversaries use software vulnerabilities to gain higher-level privileges. The impact is particularly severe in enterprise environments where Storage Spaces Direct is used for large-scale data storage and virtualization, as the compromised system could provide access to thousands of terabytes of corporate data. Additionally, the vulnerability may enable attackers to establish persistence mechanisms within storage management systems, making detection and remediation more challenging.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-35764 require immediate implementation of Microsoft security patches and updates to address the underlying privilege management flaw. Organizations should prioritize applying the relevant Windows updates that fix the Storage Spaces Direct privilege escalation vulnerability, as these patches specifically target the access control mechanisms that allow unauthorized privilege elevation. System administrators should implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of Storage Spaces Direct interfaces to only authorized personnel and systems. Monitoring and logging of Storage Spaces Direct API calls and configuration changes should be enhanced to detect potential exploitation attempts. The principle of least privilege should be strictly enforced by ensuring that only essential personnel have access to storage management interfaces and that administrative accounts are protected with multi-factor authentication. Organizations should also consider implementing additional security controls such as Windows Defender Application Control or similar application whitelisting solutions to prevent exploitation of the vulnerability through unauthorized code execution. Security teams should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify systems running Storage Spaces Direct and verify that appropriate mitigations have been applied. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and implementing comprehensive monitoring strategies for critical storage infrastructure components.