CVE-2021-44903

Local SYSTEM escalation via unrestricted driver IOCTLs

Published Feb 4, 2022 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Privilege escalation in MSI Center Pro 2.0.16.0 and earlier allows local users to gain SYSTEM privileges through driver IOCTL requests. The bundled kernel drivers expose IOCTL handlers that map physical memory into user space and permit MSR and I/O-port reads and writes without restricting access to privileged callers. A low-privileged Windows account can reach these primitives and use their kernel-level access to take control of the host as NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM.

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

What happened

Privilege escalation in MSI Center Pro 2.0.16.0 and earlier allows local users to gain SYSTEM privileges through driver IOCTL requests. The bundled kernel drivers expose IOCTL handlers that map physical memory into user space and permit MSR and I/O-port reads and writes without restricting access to privileged callers. A low-privileged Windows account can reach these primitives and use their kernel-level access to take control of the host as NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-44903
Published
Feb 4, 2022
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-269, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 4, 2022CVE 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

7.8GitHub Advisory DatabaseCVSS: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.

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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
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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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