# itm4n/PrintSpoofer

Abusing impersonation privileges through the "Printer Bug"

Repository: https://github.com/itm4n/PrintSpoofer
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/printspoofer
Homepage: https://itm4n.github.io/printspoofer-abusing-impersonate-privileges/
Language: C
License Family: other
Topics: windows-privilege-escalation, pentest-tool
Archived: true
Last push: 2020-09-10T17:49:41+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2318, "days_push": 2183, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: archived, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2268, forks 367 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:32.944580+00:00)

## What it is
PrintSpoofer is a Windows privilege escalation tool that abuses SeImpersonatePrivilege via the Print Spooler 'Printer Bug' to escalate from LOCAL/NETWORK SERVICE to SYSTEM on Windows 10 and Server 2016/2019. It spawns a SYSTEM process running a custom command, either interactively, non-interactively, or on a specific desktop session.

## Use cases
- escalate from service account to SYSTEM on Windows Server 2019
- get a SYSTEM reverse shell from a webshell
- spawn a SYSTEM command prompt over WinRM or wmiexec
- exploit SeImpersonatePrivilege when Juicy Potato fails on modern Windows
- run PowerShell as NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM from a bind shell

## When to choose
- you hold SeImpersonatePrivilege on Windows 10 or Server 2016/2019 where potato attacks no longer work
- you need a quick, reliable SYSTEM shell during a pentest without extra dependencies

## When to avoid
- you are on legacy Windows versions where Juicy Potato works
- you need a maintained tool - the project has had no releases since 2020 and is patched on fully updated systems
- you are doing defensive auditing rather than offensive exploitation

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: maintenance
- function: security, penetration-testing, cli
- domain: security, penetration-testing, windows
- platform: windows, cli
- tags: privilege-escalation, seimpersonateprivilege, print-spooler, system-shell, post-exploitation, red-team

## Member repositories
- itm4n/PrintSpoofer (main) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:32.944580+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:42:02.070353+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/itm4n/PrintSpoofer (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:32.944580+00:00, sha 3ee225d6aaea)
  - homepage: https://itm4n.github.io/printspoofer-abusing-impersonate-privileges/ (fetched 2026-08-29T10:22:25.154498+00:00, sha 3ab085e475ec)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.