Privilege escalation via insecure archive directory handling
Published Nov 9, 2022 · Updated Aug 10, 2026
Privilege escalation in Microsoft Sysmon before 14.11 allows local users to gain SYSTEM privileges through crafted archive paths. The ClipboardChange RPC handler writes and deletes attacker-controlled strings under the archive directory without verifying that a low-privilege user did not create the directory or redirect it with a junction. Exploitation requires local low-privilege access and an archive directory not already secured by enabled archival events; the resulting SYSTEM-context file operations enable elevation.
Summary
What happened
Privilege escalation in Microsoft Sysmon before 14.11 allows local users to gain SYSTEM privileges through crafted archive paths. The ClipboardChange RPC handler writes and deletes attacker-controlled strings under the archive directory without verifying that a low-privilege user did not create the directory or redirect it with a junction. Exploitation requires local low-privilege access and an archive directory not already secured by enabled archival events; the resulting SYSTEM-context file operations enable elevation.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-41120
- Published
- Nov 9, 2022
- Updated
- Aug 10, 2026
- Vendor
- Microsoft
- Product
- Sysmon
- Classifications
- T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Nov 9, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 10, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=1.0 <14.11
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- SysmonEoP proof of conceptfunctional · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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