Local privilege escalation through AFD.sys
Published Sep 15, 2021 · Updated Aug 10, 2026
Privilege escalation in affected Microsoft Windows and Windows Server releases allows local users to gain elevated privileges through AFD.sys. Microsoft has not published the faulty AFD.sys operation or the exact privilege level obtained. Exploitation requires existing low-privileged local access and no user interaction, and success compromises system confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Summary
What happened
Privilege escalation in affected Microsoft Windows and Windows Server releases allows local users to gain elevated privileges through AFD.sys. Microsoft has not published the faulty AFD.sys operation or the exact privilege level obtained. Exploitation requires existing low-privileged local access and no user interaction, and success compromises system confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2021-38628
- Published
- Sep 15, 2021
- Updated
- Aug 10, 2026
- Vendor
- Microsoft
- Product
- Windows 10 Version 1507
- 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=10.0.10240.0 <10.0.10240.19060
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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