CVE-2022-21999
Microsoft Windows: Print Spooler Privilege Escalation
As of , CVE-2022-21999 in Microsoft Windows is on CISA's list of exploited vulnerabilities: CISA listed it on . Our patch-first group: Patch this week.
- Exploited
- Yes: CISA listed it on 25 March 2022
- US federal deadline
- 15 April 202221 days after CISA listed it. US federal civilian agencies must fix it by then.
- Used in ransomware campaigns
- KnownCISA changed it from Unknown to Known on 13 May 2025.
- EPSS score
- 0.41Higher than 98% of the CVEs EPSS scores. EPSS estimates the chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days.
- EPSS when listed
- 0.08 on 25 March 2022EPSS on the day CISA listed it.
- Public exploit
- 1 Metasploit module
- Fix
- No vendor link in CISA's entry
What CISA says to do
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
CISA's required action
What the flaw is
Microsoft Windows Print Spooler contains an unspecified vulnerability which can allow for privilege escalation.
CISA's description
Windows Print Spooler Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
The CVE record's description, from microsoft
- CVE published
- 9 February 2022
- Assigned by
- microsoft
- CVSS
- 7.8 High (CVSS 3.1, from the CNA)
- CWE-22
- Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
- CWE-59
- Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
- CWE-40
- Path Traversal: '\\UNC\share\name\' (Windows UNC Share)
- CWE-1386
- Insecure Operation on Windows Junction / Mount Point
- CISA SSVC, exploitation
- active
- CISA SSVC, automatable
- no
- CISA SSVC, technical impact
- total
Timeline
- The CVE record was published.
- CISA added it to its list of exploited vulnerabilities.
- The US federal deadline to fix it.
- CISA changed its entry. Ransomware use: Unknown to Known.
Public exploits
Facts from Metasploit's module list and Exploit-DB's index; we never copy exploit code.
- Metasploit: CVE-2022-21999 SpoolFool Privescexploit module, rank normal
Windows: other exploited entries
| Vulnerability | Product | Our group | Listed | Deadline | EPSS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2025-60710Link Following | Microsoft Windows | Patch nowRansomware use, listed within a year | 0.05 | ||
| CVE-2008-4250Buffer Overflow | Microsoft Windows | Patch this weekMetasploit module; EPSS 0.99; verified Exploit-DB entry | 0.99 | ||
| CVE-2008-0015Video ActiveX Control Remote Code Execution | Microsoft Windows | Patch this weekMetasploit module; EPSS 0.77; verified Exploit-DB entry | 0.77 | ||
| CVE-2013-3918Out-of-Bounds Write | Microsoft Windows | Patch this weekMetasploit module; EPSS 0.74; verified Exploit-DB entry | 0.74 | ||
| CVE-2010-2568Remote Code Execution | Microsoft Windows | Patch this weekMetasploit module; EPSS 0.91; verified Exploit-DB entry | 0.91 | ||
| CVE-2015-0016TS WebProxy Directory Traversal | Microsoft Windows | Patch this weekMetasploit module; EPSS 0.76; verified Exploit-DB entry | 0.76 | ||
| CVE-2015-2426Adobe Type Manager Library Remote Code Execution | Microsoft Windows | Patch this weekMetasploit module; EPSS 0.87; verified Exploit-DB entry | 0.87 | ||
| CVE-2014-6332Object Linking & Embedding (OLE) Automation Array Remote Code Execution | Microsoft Windows | Patch this weekMetasploit module; EPSS 0.95; verified Exploit-DB entry | 0.95 | ||
| CVE-2017-0146SMB Remote Code Execution | Microsoft Windows | Patch this weekRansomware use; Metasploit module; EPSS 0.90; verified Exploit-DB entry | 0.90 | ||
| CVE-2014-4114Object Linking & Embedding (OLE) Remote Code Execution | Microsoft Windows | Patch this weekMetasploit module; EPSS 0.82; verified Exploit-DB entry | 0.82 |
Read further
- CVE recordcve.org
- NVD entrynvd.nist.gov
- CISA's catalogcisa.gov
- EPSS for this CVEapi.first.org