Windows 10 Update Assistant 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
- Nov 23, 2021
- Updated
- Aug 19, 2026
- EPSS
- 1.4% · 72th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-59
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Report tools
Action score
20
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 20 / 40 · 5.0 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 1.4%
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- —
- CNA · microsoft
- 5.0
- NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Affected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| microsoft | windows 10 update assistant | cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:windows_10_update_assistant |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- microsoft windows 10 update assistantall 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 Update Assistant
- 10.0.0 and later · before publicationaffected
Same product
microsoft: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2019-1378An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Windows 10 Update Assistant in the way it handles permissions.A locally authenticated atta31Monitor
- CVE-2021-36945Windows 10 Update Assistant Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability30Monitor
- CVE-2021-43211Windows 10 Update Assistant Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability22Monitor
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
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
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.
No dated events beyond publication.
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.
- A user must open a link or visit a page.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- none
- Integrity
- none
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Local
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- None
- Integrity impact
- None
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-59 · Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
ATT&CK techniques
- Obfuscated Files or Information: HTML SmugglingT1027.006
- Obfuscated Files or Information: Embedded PayloadsT1027.009
- Boot or Logon Autostart Execution:Shortcut ModificationT1547.009
- Hide Artifacts: Resource ForkingT1564.009
- Hijack Execution Flow: Executable Installer File Permissions WeaknessT1574.005
- Hijack Execution Flow: Services File Permissions WeaknessT1574.010
Change log
No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.
References
- msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2021-42297
- portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2021-42297
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.