CVE-2022-41073
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 · uneditedWindows 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 · moderate confidenceThis is an Elevation of Privilege vulnerability in the Windows Print Spooler service. The vulnerability allows a low-privilege authenticated attacker to gain SYSTEM-level privileges on the affected system.
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< 10.0.10240.19567< 10.0.14393.5501< 10.0.17763.3650< 10.0.19042.2251< 10.0.19043.2251< 10.0.19044.2251< 10.0.19045.2251< 10.0.22000.1219CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check Windows version and build numberOpen Settings > System > About, or run 'winver', or run 'systeminfo' from command prompt and look at the OS Version and Build numbersAffected if The build number is less than the fixed versions: 10240.19567 (1507), 14393.5501 (1607), 17763.3650 (1809), 19042.2251 (20h2), 19043.2251 (21h1), 19044.2251 (21h2), 19045.2251 (22h2), or 22000.1219 (Windows 11 21h2)
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Verify Print Spooler service statusOpen Services (services.msc), locate Print Spooler service, or run 'Get-Service Spooler' in PowerShellAffected if The Print Spooler service is running or set to start automatically (the vulnerability cannot be exploited if the service is stopped and disabled)
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Confirm authenticated accessThis is a local privilege escalation - verify you have an account on the systemAffected if You have a local user account on the Windows system (the attacker needs authenticated local access to exploit this flaw)
You are affected if your Windows build is below the fixed version AND the Print Spooler service is running on your system.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped10.0.10240.1956710.0.14393.550110.0.17763.3650
Apply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2022-41073. If the Print Spooler service is not required, it can be disabled as a defense-in-depth measure.
- 1. Apply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2022-41073. Navigate to Windows Update or Microsoft Update Catalog and install the November 2022 security updates for your Windows version.
- 2. Alternatively, download the specific security update from the Microsoft Update Catalog using KB5019961 or subsequent relevant security bulletins.
- 3. Restart the system after installing the update.
- 4. Verify the Print Spooler service is running: Open Services (services.msc), locate Print Spooler, and ensure its status is Running.
- 5. Confirm the installed Windows version matches or exceeds the fixed build number for your release (e.g., for Windows 10 21h2, verify build >= 10.0.19044.2251).
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-41073 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-41073 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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