Local privilege escalation
Published Aug 12, 2021 · Updated Aug 10, 2026
Privilege escalation in Windows Update Medic Service on affected Windows 10 and Windows Server builds allows local users to gain elevated access. Microsoft has not published the flawed function, input path, or incorrect operation inside the service. Exploitation requires prior low-privilege access to the host and can compromise confidentiality, integrity, and availability within the existing security boundary.
Summary
What happened
Privilege escalation in Windows Update Medic Service on affected Windows 10 and Windows Server builds allows local users to gain elevated access. Microsoft has not published the flawed function, input path, or incorrect operation inside the service. Exploitation requires prior low-privilege access to the host and can compromise confidentiality, integrity, and availability within the existing security boundary.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2021-36948
- Published
- Aug 12, 2021
- Updated
- Aug 10, 2026
- Vendor
- Microsoft
- Product
- Windows Server 2019
- Classifications
- T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 12, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Nov 3, 2021Exploitation reportedCISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog listing
- Aug 10, 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.
- Affected versionversion=10.0.17763.0 <10.0.17763.2114
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
- CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog listingknown exploited catalog
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
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