CVE-2021-38304Public exploit

Local privilege escalation via unchecked driver pointer

Published Sep 17, 2021 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Improper input validation in National Instruments NI-PAL before 20.0.1f0 allows local users to gain elevated privileges via the driver. On Windows, nipalk.sys invokes a user-supplied function pointer from IOCTL 0xABCD03C4 without validation and passes attacker-controlled parameters. Existing privileges and local access are required; NI has not disclosed the corresponding Linux or macOS input path or resulting privilege level.

CVSS severity8.2
High
EPSS probability0.44%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper input validation in National Instruments NI-PAL before 20.0.1f0 allows local users to gain elevated privileges via the driver. On Windows, nipalk.sys invokes a user-supplied function pointer from IOCTL 0xABCD03C4 without validation and passes attacker-controlled parameters. Existing privileges and local access are required; NI has not disclosed the corresponding Linux or macOS input path or resulting privilege level.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-38304
Published
Sep 17, 2021
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-20, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 17, 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

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
8.2National InstrumentsCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.6NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

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 exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-20Improper Input Validation
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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