Windows Print Spooler Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
CVE-2022-38028 is a local elevation-of-privilege vulnerability in the Windows Print Spooler service. Based on the provided content, exploitation abuses Print Spooler components by modifying the MPDW-constraints.js JavaScript constraints file and invoking a rogue protocol handler during RpcEndDocPrinter execution so that an attacker-controlled DLL is loaded by the Print Spooler process with SYSTEM privileges. Microsoft reporting cited in the content states that the exploit chain can involve creation of registry keys for a custom protocol handler and CLSID COM server, hijacking the C: drive symbolic link in the object manager, and causing the spooler to load an attacker-controlled constraints file from an actor-controlled directory. The issue affects multiple supported Windows client and server releases and was patched by Microsoft on 2022-10-11. The vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 and is described as requiring local access, low attack complexity, low privileges, and no user interaction.
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Impact, mitigation & remediation
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Impact
What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.
Mitigation
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Remediation
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Exploits
No public exploits tracked yet. Mallory keeps watching.
No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.
Affected products & vendors
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Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.
Recent activity
15 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
A Windows Print Spooler privilege escalation vulnerability weaponized by APT28 via the GooseEgg tool to gain SYSTEM-level execution.
A Windows privilege-escalation vulnerability referenced as a technique to detect (rule tuning/false-positive reduction), without additional technical detail in this digest.
A Windows Print Spooler privilege escalation vulnerability exploited by Forest Blizzard using the GooseEgg tool to gain elevated privileges, steal credentials, and enable further compromise.
A Windows Print Spooler privilege escalation vulnerability exploited by Forest Blizzard via the GooseEgg tool to gain SYSTEM-level execution and steal credentials in compromised networks.
The version that knows your environment.
Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.
Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.
Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.