CVE-2022-21919

A privilege escalation vulnerability in the Windows User Profile Service was actively exploited in the wild, allowing attackers to escalate privileges on unpatched systems.

This vulnerability allows an attacker to escalate privileges on a Windows system without needing to execute remote code directly, but the resulting elevated access can be used to deploy ransomware or exfiltrate data. DIB organizations must ensure all Windows systems are patched immediately, as this is a known, actively exploited vulnerability that bypasses standard user-level protections. Failure to patch exposes the organization to lateral movement and data compromise.

Shame score — Microsoft failed to patch a known, actively exploited vulnerability in a core Windows service, demonstrating negligence in maintaining the security of the most widely deployed operating system in the DIB.