{"id":"CVE-2022-21999","kind":"vulnerability","aliases":["CVE-2022-21999"],"related":[],"title":"Microsoft Windows: Microsoft Windows Print Spooler Privilege Escalation Vulnerability","description":"Microsoft Windows Print Spooler contains an unspecified vulnerability which can allow for privilege escalation.\n\nCISA required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.","summary":"Microsoft Windows Print Spooler has a privilege escalation flaw. A local user with a low-privilege account can gain higher privileges, such as SYSTEM, on the affected machine.","severity":"high","cvss":7.8,"epss":0.41007,"exploited":true,"exploited_at":"2022-03-25T00:00:00+00:00","products":[{"name":"Microsoft Windows","fixed":[],"affected":"","ecosystem":"vendor"}],"ecosystems":["vendor"],"tags":["exploited","infrastructure","print-spooler","ransomware","windows"],"not_affected_if":["print-spooler-disabled"],"how_to_check":null,"fix":"Apply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2022-21999 per vendor instructions (CISA required action); the specific KB and build numbers are not in the sources.","status":"open","published_at":"2022-02-09T17:15:09+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:11:52+00:00","triaged_at":"2026-10-23T21:22:10+00:00","updated_at":"2026-10-23T21:57:35+00:00","category":"infrastructure","confidence":0.6,"triage":{"at":"2026-10-23T21:22:10Z","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","output":{"fix":"Apply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2022-21999 per vendor instructions (CISA required action); the specific KB and build numbers are not in the sources.","reach":"local","impact":"high","summary":"Microsoft Windows Print Spooler has a privilege escalation flaw. A local user with a low-privilege account can gain higher privileges, such as SYSTEM, on the affected machine.","category":"infrastructure","who_cares":["windows","print-spooler"],"confidence":0.6,"needs_auth":"yes","worst_case":"Local low-privilege user gains SYSTEM rights on the Windows machine.","analyst_note":"Find the Microsoft advisory for CVE-2022-21999 (msrc.microsoft.com) to get fixed Windows builds and the Print Spooler service check; sources give no affected versions.","how_to_check":"unknown","needs_analyst":true,"not_affected_if":["print-spooler-disabled"],"user_interaction":"unknown","needs_special_setup":"unknown","severity_if_unknown":"high"},"cost_usd":0.000467,"input_tokens":2827,"output_tokens":368,"severity_before":"unknown"},"analyst_status":null,"analyst_note":null,"search":"'-2022':11A,14A '-21999':12A,15A 'account':42B 'action':70C 'affect':52B 'allow':64C 'appli':71C 'cisa':68C 'contain':58C 'cve':10A,13A 'escal':8A,32B,67C 'exploit':18B 'flaw':33B 'gain':44B 'higher':45B 'infrastructur':19B 'instruct':75C 'local':35B 'low':40B 'low-privileg':39B 'machin':53B 'microsoft':1A,3A,16A,25B,54C 'per':73C 'print':5A,21B,27B,56C 'print-spool':20B 'privileg':7A,31B,41B,46B,66C 'ransomwar':23B 'requir':69C 'spooler':6A,22B,28B,57C 'system':49B 'unspecifi':60C 'updat':72C 'user':36B 'vendor':74C 'vulner':9A,61C 'window':2A,4A,24B,26B,55C 'windows':17A","nicknames":[],"mitigations":[],"who_affected":null,"tier":null,"verified":{},"analyst_revisit_at":null,"first_public_at":"2022-02-09T17:15:09+00:00","kev":{"dateAdded":"2022-03-25","dueDate":"2022-04-15","requiredAction":"Apply updates per vendor instructions.","knownRansomwareCampaignUse":"Known"},"cvss_vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","cvss_by":"secure@microsoft.com","poc_count":0,"sources":[{"source":"kev","external_id":"CVE-2022-21999","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?search_api_fulltext=CVE-2022-21999","severity":null,"published_at":"2022-03-25T00:00:00+00:00","modified_at":null,"first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:11:52+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-25T15:39:43+00:00","note":null},{"source":"epss","external_id":"CVE-2022-21999","url":"https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2022-21999","severity":null,"published_at":null,"modified_at":null,"first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:13:44+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T19:13:44+00:00","note":null},{"source":"nvd","external_id":"CVE-2022-21999","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-21999","severity":null,"published_at":"2022-02-09T17:15:09+00:00","modified_at":"2026-06-17T04:27:26+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T21:57:35+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T21:57:35+00:00","note":null}],"documents":[],"notice":"Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai"}