Skip to content
EXYS
Back to the CVEs

CVE-2021-36934

7.8, high Known exploited

Microsoft Windows SAM Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

NVD (opens in a new tab) CVE.org (opens in a new tab) CISA KEV catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CVSS
7.8, high high CVSS v3.1
EPSS, next 30 days
67% higher than 99.2% of scored CVEs
Exploitation
Confirmed in the wild
Published
22 Jul 20215 years ago

Known exploited

CISA added this to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog on 10 Feb 2022. US federal agencies had to remediate by 24 Feb 2022, a deadline that has passed.

Required action. Apply updates per vendor instructions.

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.

Details

Vendor
Microsoft
Product
Windows 10 Version 1809
Weakness
n/a
Status
Analyzed
Updated
10 Aug 2026
Assigner
secure@microsoft.com

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References 5

Exploit code 1

Patches and fixes 2

Advisories 1

Other references 1

The kind is read from NVD's tags where present and from the shape of the URL otherwise, so treat it as a hint.

Other Microsoft CVEs

Every Microsoft CVE we hold

Same vendor in what we hold, not a known link between the flaws.

  • CVE-2026-96951 Microsoft Windows Command Injection Vulnerability KEV EPSS 2% 8.8, high
  • CVE-2026-81963 Microsoft Windows Link Following Vulnerability KEV EPSS 0.4% 7.8, high
  • CVE-2026-85880 Microsoft Windows Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability KEV EPSS 4% 7.8, high
  • CVE-2026-65660 Microsoft SharePoint Code Injection Vulnerability KEV EPSS 2% 8.8, high
  • CVE-2026-68820 Microsoft Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock Use-After-Free Vulnerability KEV EPSS 0.3% 7, high
  • CVE-2026-50522 Microsoft SharePoint Deserialization of Untrusted Data Vulnerability KEV EPSS 3% 9.8, critical
  • CVE-2026-56155 Microsoft Active Directory Federation Services Insufficient Granularity of Access Control Vulnerability KEV EPSS 0.3% 7.8, high
  • CVE-2026-56164 Microsoft SharePoint Server Missing Authentication for Critical Function Vulnerability KEV EPSS 1% 9.8, critical

Beyond this page

Is CVE-2021-36934 in your network?

This page tells you how dangerous CVE-2021-36934 is out there. Whether it sits on one of your devices, only a scan of your own network can tell. That is what our systems do, every day, for the companies we protect.

CVE-2021-36934 is in the CISA catalogue of exploited vulnerabilities: attackers are already exploiting it.

  • EXYS7600 OCELOT

    Find it before attackers do

    Ocelot scans your network on a schedule and reports every vulnerability it finds by its CVE identifier, with its CVSS score and how many of your hosts are affected. A finding like CVE-2021-36934 comes with the devices to patch.

    Learn more about EXYS7600 OCELOT

  • EXYS7950 KONDRA

    Detect it if it's exploited

    Until the patch is applied, Kondra monitors your network, events and endpoints in real time. It keeps an inventory of the software installed on every endpoint, and its anomaly detection rules flag what an attacker does once inside.

    Learn more about EXYS7950 KONDRA
Check your exposure

Assembled from the NVD 2.0 API, the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog and FIRST EPSS. Scores are as of our last collection on 17 Oct 2026, not the live upstream state.