CVE-2022-21999· NVD / CVE Program· CNA microsoft

Windows Print Spooler Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Noroxi assessment

Priority: This week (action score 73/100)

CISA has confirmed exploitation in the wild (Mar 25, 2022); it is known to be used in ransomware campaigns. Remediation deadline for US federal agencies: Apr 15, 2022.
A ready-made attack module is public (Metasploit); exploiting it takes no special expertise.
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 41% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 98.6% of all records.
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.
According to the record, no fixed version is available yet.
Mentioned 1 time in Turkish national cyber security advisories (siberguvenlik.gov.tr).

Don’t wait for the next maintenance window. Until a fix is released, restrict access to the affected component and follow the vendor's advisory.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · CISA KEV · FIRST EPSS

HighCVSS 7.8 · v3.1KEVWeaponized No fix recorded

BDU:2022-00911

Published: Feb 9, 2022
Updated: Jun 17, 2026
EPSS: 41.0% · 98th percentile
CWE: CWE-22

Report tools

JSON

Action score

This week

Don’t wait for the next maintenance window.

CVSS: 31 / 40 · 7.8 / 10
CISA KEV: 30 / 30 · Listed
EPSS: 12 / 30 · 41.0%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation: active
Automatable: no
Technical impact: total

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD: —
CNA · microsoft: 7.8; NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.

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

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 Mar 25, 2022. That signals real attacks, not theory.

Remediation deadline for US federal agencies: Apr 15, 2022.

Known to be used in ransomware campaigns.

Get told when this record changes

In CISA KEV: exploitation in the wild confirmed
Weaponized exploit exists
No fixed version yet

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

Running WordPress? Scan your site free with WP Lens

Is your version affected? Check it

Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

We use this product, ask for help

Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

Vendor	Product	CPE
microsoft	windows 10 1507	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1507
microsoft	windows 10 1607	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1607
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 7	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_7
microsoft	windows 8.1	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_8.1
microsoft	windows rt 8.1	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_rt_8.1
microsoft	windows server 2008	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008

and 5 more

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

microsoft windows server 2008all versions
microsoft windows server 2008r2
microsoft windows server 2012all versions
microsoft windows server 2012r2
microsoft windows server 2016before 10.0.14393.4946
microsoft windows server 2019before 10.0.17763.2565
microsoft windows server 2022before 10.0.20348.524
microsoft windows server 20h2before 10.0.19042.1526

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 1507
- 10.0.10240.0 and later · before 10.0.10240.19204affected
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1607
- 10.0.14393.0 and later · before 10.0.14393.4946affected
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1809
- 10.0.17763.0 and later · before 10.0.17763.2565affected
- 10.0.0 and later · before 10.0.17763.2565affected
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1909
- 10.0.0 and later · before 10.0.18363.2094affected
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 20H2
- 10.0.0 and later · before 10.0.19042.1526affected
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 21H1
- 10.0.0 and later · before 10.0.19043.1526affected
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 21H2
- 10.0.19043.0 and later · before 10.0.19044.1526affected
Microsoft Windows 11 version 21H2
- 10.0.0 and later · before 10.0.22000.493affected
Microsoft Windows 7
- 6.1.0 and later · before 6.1.7601.25860affected
Microsoft Windows 7 Service Pack 1
- 6.1.0 and later · before 6.1.7601.25860affected
Microsoft Windows 8.1
- 6.3.0 and later · before 6.3.9600.20269affected
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2
- 6.0.6003.0 and later · before 6.0.6003.21374affected

Same product

microsoft: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

CVE-2021-34527Windows Print Spooler Remote Code Execution VulnerabilityKEV
95Now
CVE-2021-40444Microsoft MSHTML Remote Code Execution VulnerabilityKEV
94Now
CVE-2025-33053Internet Shortcut Files Remote Code Execution VulnerabilityKEV
91Now

Published before and after this one in the same product

← EarlierCVE-2021-43226Dec 15, 2021 · Windows Common Log File System Driver Elevation of Privilege VulnerabilityKEV
62This week
← EarlierCVE-2022-21919Jan 11, 2022 · Windows User Profile Service Elevation of Privilege VulnerabilityKEV
59Plan
Later →CVE-2022-22718Feb 9, 2022 · Windows Print Spooler Elevation of Privilege VulnerabilityKEV
67This 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 ×1

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.

Public exploit evidence
Source	Kind	Date
Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub	stars:793	2022-02-08
Metasploit module	exploit/windows/local/cve_2022_21999_spoolfool_privescCVE-2022-21999 SpoolFool Privescexploit	2022-02-08

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.

First PoCFeb 8, 2022-2 d
MetasploitFeb 8, 2022-2 d
PublishedFeb 9, 2022
CISA KEVMar 25, 2022+43 d
TodayOct 25, 2026+1719 d

EPSS, last 120 days-1% in 7 days

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 researchers

Finders, 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.

—

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

CVE-2022-2692590 days apartWindows LSA Spoofing VulnerabilityKEV
60This week

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

National notice (Türkiye Cybersecurity Directorate / USOM)

Official security notices citing this record; remediation advice is on the agency's page.

TR-22-0129 · Feb 10, 2022(Microsoft Windows Zafiyeti)

All national notices →

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-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

nvd-secondary

Root cause

A user-supplied file name is joined with the allowed directory, but the result is never checked to confirm it is still inside that directory.

The bug in code

The whole CWE-22 class

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

1const file = path.join(ROOT, req.query.name);
2res.sendFile(file);

Fixed

1const file = path.resolve(ROOT, req.query.name);
2if (!file.startsWith(ROOT + path.sep)) {
3  return res.sendStatus(400);
4}
5res.sendFile(file);

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

Attack patterns (CAPEC)

ATT&CK techniques

—

Change 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-2022-21999

Show all references (1 more)

www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2022-21999

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records

Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

We use this product, ask for help

Data sources and verification

CNA: microsoft

CVE.org (CNA)Oct 21, 2025, 11:15 PM UTC
CISA ADPOct 21, 2025, 11:15 PM UTC
NVDJun 17, 2026, 12:27 AM UTC
FIRST EPSSOct 23, 2026, 12:00 AM UTC
MetasploitOct 25, 2026, 3:18 AM UTC
PoC-in-GitHubOct 25, 2026, 3:18 AM UTC

Each line is when that source was last processed for this record.