dbcve.org
Windows 10Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2022-26789

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-04-15
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Windows Print Spooler Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Windows Print Spooler service contains a privilege escalation flaw that allows a local attacker to elevate from low privileges to SYSTEM level. The vulnerability stems from improper access control in the Print Spooler component, which runs with elevated privileges.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates for CVE-2022-26789. As an interim measure, disable the Print Spooler service if not required using 'Stop-Service Spooler' and 'Set-Service -Name Spooler -StartupType Disabled'.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Windows 10Operating system
Affected:= 20h2= 21h1= 21h2= 1809= 1909
Windows 11Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2016Operating system
Affected:= 20h2
Windows Server 2019Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2022Operating system
Affected:all versions

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Windows version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to determine the exact Windows version and build number
    Affected if The version matches Windows 10 20h2, 21h1, 21h2, 1809, or 1909; Windows 11 any version; Windows Server 2016 20h2; Windows Server 2019 any version; or Windows Server 2022 any version
  2. Confirm Print Spooler service status
    Run 'Get-Service Spooler' in PowerShell or check Services.msc for the Print Spooler service
    Affected if The Spooler service is running (status shows 'Running')
  3. Verify Print Spooler is exposed
    Run 'Get-PrinterPort -Name *' to enumerate configured printer ports, or check if any printers are installed via 'Get-Printer'
    Affected if Any printer ports or printers are configured, indicating the Print Spooler is actively handling print requests
  4. Check current user privileges
    Run 'whoami /all' to list current user group memberships and privileges
    Affected if The current user is a local user with limited privileges (not an administrator or Domain Admin)
  5. Identify if SYSTEM processes exist from Spooler
    Run 'Get-Process | Where-Object {$_.ProcessName -like "*spool*"} -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue' to see if Print Spooler processes are running under SYSTEM
    Affected if Print Spooler processes are running under the SYSTEM account (visible in Task Manager Process properties)

The system is affected if it runs a vulnerable Windows version from the affected list AND the Print Spooler service is running with SYSTEM privileges while the current user has low-level access.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Microsoft security updates for CVE-2022-26789. As an interim measure, disable the Print Spooler service if not required using 'Stop-Service Spooler' and 'Set-Service -Name Spooler -StartupType Disabled'.

Recommended fix High confidence

Install the Microsoft security update for CVE-2022-26789 (May 2022 Security Update)

  1. Open Windows Settings and navigate to Update & Security > Windows Update
  2. Click 'Check for updates' to install the latest security updates
  3. Alternatively, visit https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide and search for CVE-2022-26789 to manually download the appropriate security update for your Windows version
  4. After installation, restart the system to apply the patch
  5. Verify the update was installed by checking Windows Update history

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Windows 10 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-26789 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data