Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
- Published
- Jan 11, 2022
- Updated
- Aug 15, 2026
- EPSS
- 59.2% · 99th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-787
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Action score
79
This week
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- CVSS
- 31 / 40 · 7.8 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 30 / 30 · Listed
- EPSS
- 18 / 30 · 59.2%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- active
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- total
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- 7.8
- CNA · microsoft
- 7.0
- 0.8 point gap
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
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Actively exploited in the wild
CISA added this to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on Feb 4, 2022. That signals real attacks, not theory.
Remediation deadline for government agencies: Feb 18, 2022.
Known to be used in ransomware campaigns.
Affected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| microsoft | windows 10 1809 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1809 |
| microsoft | windows 10 1909 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1909 |
| microsoft | windows 10 20h2 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_20h2 |
| microsoft | windows 10 21h1 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_21h1 |
| microsoft | windows 10 21h2 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_21h2 |
| microsoft | windows 11 21h2 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_11_21h2 |
| microsoft | windows server 2019 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2019 |
| microsoft | windows server 2022 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2022 |
| microsoft | windows server 20h2 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_20h2 |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- microsoft windows server 2019before 10.0.17763.2452
- microsoft windows server 2022before 10.0.20348.469
- microsoft windows server 20h2before 10.0.19042.1466
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (microsoft). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1809
- 10.0.17763.0 and later · before 10.0.17763.2452affected
- 10.0.0 and later · before 10.0.17763.2452affected
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1909
- 10.0.0 and later · before 10.0.18363.2037affected
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 20H2
- 10.0.0 and later · before 10.0.19042.1466affected
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 21H1
- 10.0.0 and later · before 10.0.19043.1466affected
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 21H2
- 10.0.19043.0 and later · before 10.0.19044.1466affected
Microsoft Windows 11 version 21H2
- 10.0.0 and later · before 10.0.22000.434affected
Microsoft Windows Server 2019
- 10.0.17763.0 and later · before 10.0.17763.2452affected
Microsoft Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation)
- 10.0.17763.0 and later · before 10.0.17763.2452affected
Microsoft Windows Server 2022
- 10.0.20348.0 and later · before 10.0.20348.469affected
Microsoft Windows Server version 20H2
- 10.0.0 and later · before 10.0.19042.1466affected
Same product
microsoft: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2024-21412Internet Shortcut Files Security Feature Bypass VulnerabilityKEV92Now
- CVE-2021-36934Windows Elevation of Privilege VulnerabilityKEV81Now
- CVE-2024-21338Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege VulnerabilityKEV79This week
- CVE-2024-29988SmartScreen Prompt Security Feature Bypass VulnerabilityKEV78This week
- CVE-2022-21971Windows Runtime Remote Code Execution VulnerabilityKEV77This week
- CVE-2021-31955Windows Kernel Information Disclosure VulnerabilityKEV76This week
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.
Exploit status
Weaponized
A ready exploit tool or active in-the-wild use is known for this vulnerability. This should be your top priority.
Evidence
- Metasploit module ×1
- Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub ×5
Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.
| Source | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Metasploit module | exploit/windows/local/cve_2022_21882_win32kWin32k ConsoleControl Offset Confusionexploit | 2021-02-09 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:460 | 2022-01-27 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:8 | 2022-02-01 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:197 | 2022-02-03 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:49 | 2022-02-07 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:6 | 2022-02-14 |
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
- Metasploit-337 d
- Published
- First PoC+15 d
- CISA KEV+23 d
- TodaySep 30, 2026+1723 d
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
- A low-privileged account is enough.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- high · data can be read
- Integrity
- high · data or configuration can be modified
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Local
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- High
- Integrity impact
- High
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-787 · Out-of-bounds WriteCVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
nvd-primary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.
We use this product, ask for helpChange log
No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.
References
- msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2022-21882
- packetstormsecurity.com/files/166169/Win32k-ConsoleControl-Offset-Confusion-Privilege-Escalation.html
- portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2022-21882
- www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2022-21882
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.