CVE-2021-26863Public exploit

Local privilege escalation via PDEVOBJ use-after-free

Published Mar 11, 2021 · Updated Aug 19, 2026

Use-after-free in Win32k on affected Windows releases allows local users to elevate privileges via a device-context race. NtGdiGetDeviceCapsAll releases its DCOBJ reference before vGetDeviceCaps finishes using the associated PDEVOBJ, so another thread can close the device context and free that object. Low-privileged local code must win the race; successful exploitation permits arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges.

CVSS severity7.0
High
EPSS probability11.85%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Use-after-free in Win32k on affected Windows releases allows local users to elevate privileges via a device-context race. NtGdiGetDeviceCapsAll releases its DCOBJ reference before vGetDeviceCaps finishes using the associated PDEVOBJ, so another thread can close the device context and free that object. Low-privileged local code must win the race; successful exploitation permits arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-26863
Published
Mar 11, 2021
Updated
Aug 19, 2026
Vendor
Microsoft
Product
Windows Server 2019
Classifications
CWE-269, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 11, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 19, 2026Record 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=10.0.17763.0 <10.0.17763.1817

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Microsoft · Windows Server 2019version=10.0.17763.0 <10.0.17763.1817
Microsoft · Windows 10 Version 1909version=10.0.0 <10.0.18363.1440
Microsoft · Windows 10 Version 1803version=10.0.0 <10.0.17134.2087
Microsoft · Windows Server, version 2004version=10.0.0 <10.0.19043.867
Microsoft · Windows 10 Version 20H2version=10.0.0 <10.0.19043.867
Microsoft · Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation)version=10.0.17763.0 <10.0.17763.1817
Microsoft · Windows Server version 20H2version=10.0.0 <10.0.19043.867
Microsoft · Windows 10 Version 2004version=10.0.0 <10.0.19043.867
Microsoft · Windows 10 Version 1809version=10.0.0 <10.0.17763.1817; version=10.0.17763.0 <10.0.17763.1817
Microsoft · Windows Server, version 1909 (Server Core installation)version=10.0.0 <10.0.18363.1440

Published CVSS scores

7.0Microsoft CorporationCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.2NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-269Improper Privilege Management
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

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

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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