Local SYSTEM privilege escalation
Published Dec 13, 2022 · Updated Jul 22, 2025
Elevation of privilege in Microsoft Windows Print Spooler allows local users with low privileges to gain SYSTEM privileges. Microsoft has not published the flawed function, input path, or incorrect operation in the spooler. Exploitation requires local low-privilege access and yields full SYSTEM control of the affected host, while the public record identifies no remote attack path.
Summary
What happened
Elevation of privilege in Microsoft Windows Print Spooler allows local users with low privileges to gain SYSTEM privileges. Microsoft has not published the flawed function, input path, or incorrect operation in the spooler. Exploitation requires local low-privilege access and yields full SYSTEM control of the affected host, while the public record identifies no remote attack path.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-44678
- Published
- Dec 13, 2022
- Updated
- Jul 22, 2025
- Vendor
- Microsoft
- Product
- Windows 10 Version 1507
- Classifications
- T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Dec 13, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jul 22, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=10.0.10240.0 <10.0.10240.19624
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
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
No public exploit references are available in this record.
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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