Windows Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
We don't hand-write analysis for the hundreds of thousands of vulnerabilities in the database; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.
We use this product, ask for help- Published
- Feb 25, 2021
- Updated
- Aug 12, 2026
- EPSS
- 78.4% · 100th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-787
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Action score
85
Now
Patch today or shut off access.
- CVSS
- 31 / 40 · 7.8 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 30 / 30 · Listed
- EPSS
- 24 / 30 · 78.4%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- active
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- total
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- —
- CNA · microsoft
- 7.8
- NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:F/RL:O/RC:C
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Actively exploited in the wild
CISA added this to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on Nov 3, 2021. That signals real attacks, not theory.
Remediation deadline for government agencies: Nov 17, 2021.
Known to be used in ransomware campaigns.
Affected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| microsoft | windows 10 1803 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1803 |
| microsoft | windows 10 1809 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1809 |
| microsoft | windows 10 1909 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1909 |
| microsoft | windows 10 2004 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_2004 |
| microsoft | windows 10 20h2 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_20h2 |
| microsoft | windows server 1909 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_1909 |
| microsoft | windows server 2004 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2004 |
| microsoft | windows server 2019 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2019 |
| microsoft | windows server 20h2 | cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_20h2 |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- microsoft windows server 1909all versions
- microsoft windows server 2004all versions
- microsoft windows server 2019all versions
- microsoft windows server 20h2all versions
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (microsoft). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1803
- 10.0.0 and later · before publicationaffected
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1809
- 10.0.0 and later · before publicationaffected
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 1909
- 10.0.0 and later · before publicationaffected
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 2004
- 10.0.0 and later · before publicationaffected
Microsoft Windows 10 Version 20H2
- 10.0.0 and later · before publicationaffected
Microsoft Windows Server 2019
- 10.0.0 and later · before publicationaffected
Microsoft Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation)
- 10.0.0 and later · before publicationaffected
Microsoft Windows Server version 2004
- 10.0.0 and later · before publicationaffected
Microsoft Windows Server version 20H2
- 10.0.0 and later · before publicationaffected
Microsoft Windows Server, version 1909 (Server Core installation)
- 10.0.0 and later · before publicationaffected
Same product
microsoft: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2019-1322An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when Windows improperly handles authentication requests, aka 'Microsoft Windows Elevation of KEV67This week
- CVE-2021-28310Win32k Elevation of Privilege VulnerabilityKEV63This week
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.
Exploit status
Weaponized
A ready exploit tool or active in-the-wild use is known for this vulnerability. This should be your top priority.
Evidence
- Metasploit module ×1
- Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub ×13
Noroxi does not host or link to exploit code. Metasploit module names and Nuclei template ids are shown (names, not code); Exploit-DB entries and PoC repositories are given as counts only.
| Source | Kind | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Metasploit module | exploit/windows/local/cve_2022_21882_win32kWin32k ConsoleControl Offset Confusionexploit | 2021-02-09 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:427 | 2021-03-05 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:0 | 2021-03-08 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:1 | 2021-03-09 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:3 | 2021-04-02 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:66 | 2021-04-23 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:31 | 2021-04-25 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:1 | 2021-09-24 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:0 | 2022-01-23 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:0 | 2022-02-15 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:15 | 2022-11-01 |
| Proof-of-concept repository on GitHub | stars:4 | 2023-03-09 |
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
- Metasploit-17 d
- Published
- First PoC+7 d
- CISA KEV+250 d
- TodaySep 30, 2026+2043 d
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
No nightly-computed relations.
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
- A low-privileged account is enough.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- high · data can be read
- Integrity
- high · data or configuration can be modified
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Local
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- High
- Integrity impact
- High
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-787 · Out-of-bounds WriteCVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
nvd-secondary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.
Change log
No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.
References
- portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2021-1732
- www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2021-1732
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.