CVE-2026-28721

Local privilege escalation via improper soft link handling

Published Mar 5, 2026 · Updated Mar 5, 2026

Improper soft link handling in Acronis Cyber Protect 17 before build 41186 allows local users to escalate privileges on Windows. Acronis has not disclosed which privileged component follows an attacker-controlled soft link or which file operation is redirected. A low-privileged local user and a separate user action are required; successful exploitation grants elevated privileges on the Windows host.

CVSS severity7.3
High
EPSS probability0.15%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper soft link handling in Acronis Cyber Protect 17 before build 41186 allows local users to escalate privileges on Windows. Acronis has not disclosed which privileged component follows an attacker-controlled soft link or which file operation is redirected. A low-privileged local user and a separate user action are required; successful exploitation grants elevated privileges on the Windows host.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-28721
Published
Mar 5, 2026
Updated
Mar 5, 2026
Vendor
Acronis
Product
Acronis Cyber Protect
Classifications
CWE-610, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 5, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Mar 5, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=unspecified <41186

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Acronis · Acronis Cyber Protectversion=unspecified <41186

Published CVSS scores

7.3Acronis International GmbHCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-610Externally Controlled Reference to a Resource in Another Sphere
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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