CVE-2021-36934
Windows Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
- High 7.8
- Exploited: added to CISA KEV 10 Feb 2022
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.
Key facts
- Published
- 22 Jul 2021
- Last changed
- 10 Aug 2026
- Assigned by
- microsoft
- KEV added
- 10 Feb 2022
- KEV fix due
- 24 Feb 2022
- EPSS
- 67.252% likely to be exploited in the next 30 days, higher than 99.315% of CVEs (scores for 15 Nov 2026)
- SSVC (CISA)
- Exploitation: active; Automatable: no; Technical impact: total
Severity scores
Each score is shown as its source gave it. They are not averaged or merged.
- 7.8CVSS 3.1, Highfrom the CNA (microsoft)
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
What to do
- Apply updates per vendor instructions.CISA KEV required action
Historical context and remediation
This reference retains the original CVE publication date. A recent record update does not mean a new attack occurred.
No separately sourced impact summary is available on this page yet. Consult the description, version data and dated exploitation evidence.
Version statuses below come from the CNA. An “unaffected” version is not necessarily a currently supported release or proof of a patch date. EPSS is a dated risk estimate, not a count of historical attacks.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft | Windows 10 Version 1809 |
|
| Microsoft | Windows 10 Version 1809 |
|
| Microsoft | Windows 10 Version 1909 |
|
| Microsoft | Windows 10 Version 2004 |
|
| Microsoft | Windows 10 Version 20H2 |
|
| Microsoft | Windows 10 Version 21H1 |
|
Timeline
- 22 Jul 2021 Published
- 10 Feb 2022 CVE-2021-36934 added to CISA KEV
- 10 Feb 2022 Added to the CISA KEV catalogue