Vulnerability report

Trusted Third Party Report Confirmed Confidence In CISA KEV

CVE-2022-21882

Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Microsoft / Windows 10 Version 1809 · affected before 10.0.17763.2452

Watch CVE-2022-21882 Browse KEV feed
Severity
CVSS 7.0 · High
Confidence
Confirmed
Exploit status
Trusted Third Party Report
EPSS
59.2%
First observed
—
Last observed
—

Decision summary

What security teams need to know first

Direct answers before the deeper technical record.

What it is

CVE-2022-21882 is Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability affecting Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1809 and 9 other products.

Have exploitation attempts been observed?

Yes. Exploitation attempts have been reported for this vulnerability. Previdian lists it as a known exploited vulnerability. Listed in CISA KEV. Also reported by third-party sources. Confidence is confirmed.

Who is affected?

Affected products include Microsoft / Windows 10 Version 1809 and 9 other products, including affected before 10.0.17763.2452, affected before 10.0.17763.2452, and affected before 10.0.18363.2037.

What should we do?

Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.

Overview

Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Microsoft Affected
Windows 10 Version 1809
Before 10.0.17763.2452
Microsoft Affected
Windows Server 2019
Before 10.0.17763.2452
Microsoft Affected
Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation)
Before 10.0.17763.2452
Microsoft Affected
Windows 10 Version 1909
Before 10.0.18363.2037
Microsoft Affected
Windows 10 Version 21H1
Before 10.0.19043.1466
Microsoft Affected
Windows Server 2022
Before 10.0.20348.469
Microsoft Affected
Windows 10 Version 20H2
Before 10.0.19042.1466
Microsoft Affected
Windows Server version 20H2
Before 10.0.19042.1466
Microsoft Affected
Windows 11 version 21H2
Before 10.0.22000.434
Microsoft Affected
Windows 10 Version 21H2
Before 10.0.19044.1466
View vendor advisory (opens in new tab)
Published
11 Jan 2022
Exploitation Attempts Reported
04 Feb 2022
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None

Tags

windows cisa metasploit microsoft metasploit_scanner

CVE References

Exploitation evidence

Evidence of exploitation attempts

Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.

Exploitation Attempts Observed in the Wild

CISA

Recorded 04 Feb 2022

A trusted third party reported exploitation attempts.

Proof of concept available

GitHub

Recorded 27 Jan 2022

Public scanner or PoC coverage increases practical exploitability.

Known exploited vulnerability sources

Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the Previdian Pro API.

Learn about Pro API access
Source Added
CISA First 2022-02-04 00:00 UTC
CVE 2026-08-15 04:10 UTC

Detection

Operational artifacts and observed signals

Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.

Virtual patch status

No Previdian virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.

Learn about virtual patches →

Scanner Artifacts

Scanner and exploit-framework references linked to this CVE.

Scanner Reference Detected
Metasploit https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/windows/local/cve_2022_21882_win32k.rb 28 Apr 2025

Risk and context

Severity, weaknesses, and research context

CVSS v3.1

7.0 High

Potential damage if exploited. Separate from whether attackers are using it.

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

EPSS

59.2%

Estimated chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Previdian's warning comes from evidence, not this score.

Weaknesses

Out-of-bounds Write CWE-787

All CVSS Scores

CVSS v3.1 7.0 High

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

CVSS v2.0 7.2 High

AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Potential Proof of Concepts

These PoCs are unverified and could contain malware. Use at your own risk.

cve_2022_21882_win32k

metasploit · Created Unknown

Metasploit module for CVE-2022-21882

Timeline

From disclosure to observed exploitation attempts

  1. 04:10 UTC

    KEV confirmed by CVE

    Exploitation attempts reported by an external source

  2. 15:02 UTC

    Metasploit module available

    Exploit module available

  3. 15:02 UTC

    Public PoC available

    Public proof-of-concept code published

  4. 00:00 UTC

    Added to CISA KEV

    Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

  5. 20:22 UTC

    CVE published

    Vulnerability disclosed publicly

  6. 00:00 UTC

    CVE ID reserved

    Identifier reserved by the CNA

Pro API

Automate this intelligence

Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.

Start 14-day Pro trial Read API docs
  • Evidence confidence and provenance
  • First-party sensor telemetry
  • PoC and scanner references
  • Affected versions and enrichment
  • Automation-ready JSON delivery

GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2022-21882

Sample API response 
{
  "cve_id": "CVE-2022-21882",
  "confidence": "Confirmed",
  "cvss_score": 7.0,
  "cvss_estimated": false,
  "epss_score": 0.59205,
  "exploit_status": {
    "exploited_in_the_wild": true,
    "active_exploitation_observed": false
  },
  "sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}