CVE-2021-37850

Protection shutdown via repeated daemon restart commands

Published Nov 8, 2021 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Denial of service in affected ESET macOS security products allows local users to disable protection until the system reboots. A modified ESET GUI sends multiple restart commands to the ESET daemon, causing the daemon to stop rather than continue or recover. A user must already be logged on locally; successful exploitation interrupts antivirus protection but does not affect confidentiality or integrity.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.23%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in affected ESET macOS security products allows local users to disable protection until the system reboots. A modified ESET GUI sends multiple restart commands to the ESET daemon, causing the daemon to stop rather than continue or recover. A user must already be logged on locally; successful exploitation interrupts antivirus protection but does not affect confidentiality or integrity.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-37850
Published
Nov 8, 2021
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
ESET
Product
ESET Endpoint Antivirus for macOS
Classifications
CWE-404, T1562.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Nov 8, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 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=unspecified <6.10.910.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

ESET · ESET Endpoint Antivirus for macOSversion=unspecified <6.10.910.0
ESET · ESET Cyber Security for macOSversion=unspecified <=6.10.700
ESET · ESET Cyber Security Pro for macOSversion=unspecified <6.10.700
ESET · ESET Endpoint Security for macOSversion=unspecified <6.10.910.0

Published CVSS scores

5.5ESETCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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.

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

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 exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-404Improper Resource Shutdown or Release
T1562.001Impair Defenses: Disable or Modify Tools

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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