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Microsoft · Windows

CVE-2021-36934

Microsoft Windows SAM Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

CISA KEV record

CISA date added
2022-02-10
CISA due date
2022-02-24
Known ransomware use
Unknown

NVD risk context

7.8 HIGH

CVSS is a technical severity score. CISA’s KEV status remains the evidence that this vulnerability is known to be exploited.

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Attack vector
Local
An attacker needs local access to the affected system.
Attack complexity
Low
Exploitation does not require unusual conditions beyond normal attacker control.
Privileges required
Low
The attacker needs limited privileges before exploiting the issue.
User interaction
None
No action by another user is required.

Description

If a Volume Shadow Copy (VSS) shadow copy of the system drive is available, users can read the SAM file which would allow any user to escalate privileges to SYSTEM level.

Required action

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

NVD reference index

Vendor and remediation references

NVD has tagged these sources as vendor advisories, patches, mitigations, or release notes.

Other NVD references (3)

MITRE CWE context

CWE classification

CWE-1220 Insufficient Granularity of Access Control

The product implements access controls via a policy or other feature with the intention to disable or restrict accesses (reads and/or writes) to assets in a system from untrusted agents. However, implemented access controls lack required granularity, which renders the control policy too broad because it allows accesses from unauthorized agents to the security-sensitive assets.

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NVD record timing

NVD record timeline

These dates describe NVD’s record, not CISA’s KEV addition or remediation due date.

NVD published
Jul 22, 2021, 07:15 AM UTC
When NVD first published this CVE record.
NVD last updated
Jun 17, 2026, 03:59 AM UTC
When NVD last changed its analysis or record data.
Advanced: view the technical CVSS vector

This standardized code is intended for security tools and technical analysts. The plain-language risk summary above explains its main points.

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

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CISA notes

https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-36934