Local privilege escalation through undisclosed kernel flaw
Published Sep 15, 2021 · Updated Aug 10, 2026
Improper privilege management in Microsoft Windows Server 2008 SP2 allows local users with low privileges to gain elevated privileges. Microsoft has not published the affected kernel component or the operation that mishandles attacker-controlled input. Exploitation requires local low-privilege access and no user interaction, and success grants elevated control over the system.
Summary
What happened
Improper privilege management in Microsoft Windows Server 2008 SP2 allows local users with low privileges to gain elevated privileges. Microsoft has not published the affected kernel component or the operation that mishandles attacker-controlled input. Exploitation requires local low-privilege access and no user interaction, and success grants elevated control over the system.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2021-38625
- Published
- Sep 15, 2021
- Updated
- Aug 10, 2026
- Vendor
- Microsoft
- Product
- Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2
- 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
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=6.0.6003.0 <6.0.6003.21218
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
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo