CVE-2022-21881

HIGH

Windows 10 and Windows Server - Elevation of Privilege via Race Condition

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

EIP tracks 1 public exploit for CVE-2022-21881. PoCs published by theabysslabs.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This PoC exploits CVE-2022-21881, a race condition in Windows I/O operations, by using concurrent threads to trigger a use-after-free vulnerability via NtLockFile and NtSetInformationFile. The code demonstrates the vulnerability but does not include a payload, making it a functional proof-of-concept.

Description

Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Exploits (1)

nomisec WORKING POC 21 stars
by theabysslabs · poc
https://github.com/theabysslabs/CVE-2022-21881

This PoC exploits CVE-2022-21881, a race condition in Windows I/O operations, by using concurrent threads to trigger a use-after-free vulnerability via NtLockFile and NtSetInformationFile. The code demonstrates the vulnerability but does not include a payload, making it a functional proof-of-concept.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Racy
Target: Microsoft Windows (specific versions affected by CVE-2022-21881)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Access to a vulnerable Windows system · Ability to execute arbitrary code
mistral-large-3 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →

References (3)

Core 3

Scores

CVSS v3 7.0
EPSS 0.2502
EPSS Percentile 97.7%
Attack Vector LOCAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Details

CWE
CWE-362
Status published
Products (14)
microsoft/windows_10 (2 CPE variants)
microsoft/windows_10 20h2 (3 CPE variants)
microsoft/windows_10 21h1 (3 CPE variants)
microsoft/windows_10 21h2 (3 CPE variants)
microsoft/windows_10 1607 (2 CPE variants)
microsoft/windows_10 1809 (3 CPE variants)
microsoft/windows_10 1909 (3 CPE variants)
microsoft/windows_8.1 (2 CPE variants)
microsoft/windows_server 20h2
microsoft/windows_server 2022
... and 4 more
Published Jan 11, 2022
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026