CVE-2021-44198

Local privilege escalation via DLL search hijacking

Published Nov 29, 2021 · Updated Sep 16, 2024

DLL hijacking in Acronis Cyber Protect 15 before build 28035 allows local users to gain elevated privileges on Windows systems. Acronis identifies an uncontrolled DLL search path but has not disclosed the affected executable, loading routine, or attacker-writable location. Exploitation requires local access and user interaction to place or invoke a crafted DLL, after which an elevated process executes attacker-controlled code.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.25%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

DLL hijacking in Acronis Cyber Protect 15 before build 28035 allows local users to gain elevated privileges on Windows systems. Acronis identifies an uncontrolled DLL search path but has not disclosed the affected executable, loading routine, or attacker-writable location. Exploitation requires local access and user interaction to place or invoke a crafted DLL, after which an elevated process executes attacker-controlled code.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-44198
Published
Nov 29, 2021
Updated
Sep 16, 2024
Vendor
Acronis
Product
Acronis Cyber Protect 15
Classifications
CWE-427, T1574.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Nov 29, 2021CVE 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

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=unspecified <28035

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Acronis · Acronis Cyber Protect 15version=unspecified <28035

Published CVSS scores

4.4NIST NVDAV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-427Uncontrolled Search Path Element
T1574.001Hijack Execution Flow: DLL

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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