Local privilege escalation via Windows Installer
Published Jan 12, 2021 · Updated Oct 8, 2024
Windows Installer elevation of privilege in Microsoft Windows releases before the January 2021 security update allows local users to gain SYSTEM privileges. The Windows Installer service mishandles an installation operation, permitting a low-privileged authenticated local user to execute code with elevated rights. Exploitation requires local access and no user interaction; successful attacks can compromise confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Summary
What happened
Windows Installer elevation of privilege in Microsoft Windows releases before the January 2021 security update allows local users to gain SYSTEM privileges. The Windows Installer service mishandles an installation operation, permitting a low-privileged authenticated local user to execute code with elevated rights. Exploitation requires local access and no user interaction; successful attacks can compromise confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2021-1661
- Published
- Jan 12, 2021
- Updated
- Oct 8, 2024
- Vendor
- Microsoft
- Product
- Windows 10 Version 1507
- Classifications
- T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jan 12, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Nov 24, 2021Exploitation reportedIn-the-wild exploitation reported
- Oct 8, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=10.0.0 <publication
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
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.
Reported exploitation
- In-the-wild exploitation reportedreported exploitation
Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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