CVE-2021-37852

SYSTEM privilege escalation via named-pipe client impersonation

Published Feb 9, 2022 · Updated Sep 16, 2024

Local privilege escalation in affected ESET products for Windows allows local users to execute arbitrary code as NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM. The AMSI scanning feature permits an untrusted process to impersonate a named-pipe client, causing privileged operations to run under attacker control. Exploitation requires local low-privileged code execution and SeImpersonatePrivilege, which defaults to Administrators and Local Service accounts.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.60%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Local privilege escalation in affected ESET products for Windows allows local users to execute arbitrary code as NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM. The AMSI scanning feature permits an untrusted process to impersonate a named-pipe client, causing privileged operations to run under attacker control. Exploitation requires local low-privileged code execution and SeImpersonatePrivilege, which defaults to Administrators and Local Service accounts.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-37852
Published
Feb 9, 2022
Updated
Sep 16, 2024
Vendor
ESET
Product
ESET Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange Server
Classifications
CWE-269, T1134.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 9, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 16, 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=7.0.10019 <=8.0.10016.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

ESET · ESET Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange Serverversion=7.0.10019 <=8.0.10016.0
ESET · ESET Endpoint Antivirus for Windowsversion=6.6.2046.0 <=9.0.2032.4
ESET · ESET Endpoint Security for Windowsversion=6.6.2046.0 <=9.0.2032.4
ESET · ESET Server Security for Microsoft Azureversion=7.0.12016.1002 <=7.2.12004.1000
ESET · ESET Mail Security for IBM Dominoversion=7.0.14008.0 <=8.0.14004.0
ESET · ESET Server Security for Microsoft Windows Serverversion=8.0.12003.0 <=8.0.12003.1
ESET · ESET NOD32 Antivirusversion=10.0.337.1 <=15.0.18.0
ESET · ESET Security for Microsoft SharePoint Serverversion=7.0.15008.0 <=8.0.15004.0
ESET · ESET Internet Securityversion=10.0.337.1 <=15.0.18.0
ESET · ESET File Security for Microsoft Windows Serverversion=7.0.12014.0 <=7.3.12006.0
ESET · ESET Smart Securityversion=10.0.337.1 <=15.0.18.0

Published CVSS scores

7.2NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
7.8ESETCVSS: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.

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-269Improper Privilege Management
T1134.001Token Impersonation/Theft

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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