CVE-2021-36934
Windows Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:F/RL:T/RC:C
Description
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists because of overly permissive Access Control Lists (ACLs) on multiple system files, including the Security Accounts Manager (SAM) database. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. An attacker must have the ability to execute code on a victim system to exploit this vulnerability. After installing this security update, you must manually delete all shadow copies of system files, including the SAM database, to fully mitigate this vulnerabilty. Simply installing this security update will not fully mitigate this vulnerability. See KB5005357- Delete Volume Shadow Copies.
Official description from the CVE record, published by microsoft. Copyright © 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. See /security/cve/legal for the CVE license. View the record on cve.org
Key data
CVSS 3.1 High 7.8
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:F/RL:T/RC:C
Attack vector: Local
The attacker needs local access to the system, or to trick a user into running something.
Attack complexity: Low
No special conditions are needed. The attack can be repeated at will.
Privileges required: Low
A basic user account is needed.
User interaction: None
No action from any user is needed.
Scope: Unchanged
The impact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality impact: High
Serious or total effect on the secrecy of data.
Integrity impact: High
Serious or total effect on the trustworthiness of data.
Availability impact: High
Serious or total effect on availability.
| Metric | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Attack vector | Local | The attacker needs local access to the system, or to trick a user into running something. |
| Attack complexity | Low | No special conditions are needed. The attack can be repeated at will. |
| Privileges required | Low | A basic user account is needed. |
| User interaction | None | No action from any user is needed. |
| Scope | Unchanged | The impact stays within the vulnerable component. |
| Confidentiality impact | High | Serious or total effect on the secrecy of data. |
| Integrity impact | High | Serious or total effect on the trustworthiness of data. |
| Availability impact | High | Serious or total effect on availability. |
CVSS is owned and managed by FIRST.Org, Inc. (FIRST) and is used by permission. Each CVSS score on this site is shown together with its vector string, as published in the CVE record by the source named next to it. Learn more at first.org/cvss.
EPSS
- Score
- 0.67252 (67.3% probability)
- Percentile
- 99.3%
- Scores of
- Nov 10, 2026
- Model
- v2026.06.15
CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
- Name in the catalog
- Microsoft Windows SAM Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
- Added to the catalog
- Feb 10, 2022
- Federal due date
- Feb 24, 2022
CISA assessment as of Feb 4, 2025
- Exploitation
- Recorded by CISA as active
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- total
Affected products
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1809
- affected: 10.0.17763.0 up to before 10.0.17763.2114
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1809
- affected: 10.0.0 up to before 10.0.17763.2114
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1909
- affected: 10.0.0 up to before 10.0.18363.1734
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 2004
- affected: 10.0.0 up to before 10.0.19041.1165
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 20H2
- affected: 10.0.0 up to before 10.0.19042.1165
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 21H1
- affected: 10.0.0 up to before 10.0.19043.1165
References
Timeline
- ID reserved
- Record published
- Added to CISA KEV
- Record last updated
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About CubePath
Data from the CVE Program (MITRE), CISA KEV and FIRST EPSS. CVSS is owned by FIRST and used by permission. Not affiliated with or endorsed by MITRE, CISA or FIRST. Data as of Nov 10, 2026, 19:33 UTC. Sources and licenses