Local privilege escalation through undisclosed Win32k flaw
Published Sep 15, 2021 · Updated Aug 10, 2026
Elevation of privilege in Microsoft Windows Win32k allows local users with low privileges to execute code with elevated rights. Microsoft identifies Win32k as the affected component but has not published the flawed function, input path, or incorrect operation. Exploitation requires local code execution under an existing low-privilege account and can compromise confidentiality, integrity, and availability at the elevated security context.
Summary
What happened
Elevation of privilege in Microsoft Windows Win32k allows local users with low privileges to execute code with elevated rights. Microsoft identifies Win32k as the affected component but has not published the flawed function, input path, or incorrect operation. Exploitation requires local code execution under an existing low-privilege account and can compromise confidentiality, integrity, and availability at the elevated security context.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2021-36975
- Published
- Sep 15, 2021
- Updated
- Aug 10, 2026
- Vendor
- Microsoft
- Product
- Windows Server 2019
- Classifications
- CWE-269, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 15, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 10, 2026Record 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=10.0.17763.0 <10.0.17763.2183
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.
Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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