CVE-2021-1642

Local service interruption via junction-directed deletion

Published Jan 12, 2021 · Updated Oct 8, 2024

Improper privilege management in Microsoft Windows AppX Deployment Service allows local users to interrupt service through a directory junction. The elevated service follows an attacker-created junction and deletes the redirected directory instead of constraining deletion to the deployment path. Low-privileged code execution is required, and successful exploitation can delete system data and create a denial-of-service condition.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.74%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Improper privilege management in Microsoft Windows AppX Deployment Service allows local users to interrupt service through a directory junction. The elevated service follows an attacker-created junction and deletes the redirected directory instead of constraining deletion to the deployment path. Low-privileged code execution is required, and successful exploitation can delete system data and create a denial-of-service condition.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-1642
Published
Jan 12, 2021
Updated
Oct 8, 2024
Vendor
Microsoft
Product
Windows Server 2019
Classifications
CWE-269, T1068, T1485
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 12, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 8, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=10.0.0 <publication

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Microsoft · Windows Server 2019version=10.0.0 <publication
Microsoft · Windows 10 Version 1909version=10.0.0 <publication
Microsoft · Windows 10 Version 1803version=10.0.0 <publication
Microsoft · Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation)version=10.0.0 <publication
Microsoft · Windows Server, version 2004version=10.0.0 <publication
Microsoft · Windows Server 2016version=10.0.0 <publication
Microsoft · Windows 10 Version 20H2version=10.0.0 <publication
Microsoft · Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation)version=10.0.0 <publication
Microsoft · Windows Server version 20H2version=10.0.0 <publication
Microsoft · Windows 10 Version 1607version=10.0.0 <publication
Microsoft · Windows 10 Version 2004version=10.0.0 <publication
Microsoft · Windows 10 Version 1809version=10.0.0 <publication
Microsoft · Windows Server, version 1909 (Server Core installation)version=10.0.0 <publication

Published CVSS scores

7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.6NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-269Improper Privilege Management
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation
T1485Data Destruction

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo