{"id":"CVE-2021-36934","url":"https://www.cyber-defence.io/tools/cve/CVE-2021-36934","generatedAt":"2026-10-31T15:04:49.436Z","title":"Microsoft Windows SAM Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability","description":"An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists because of overly permissive Access Control Lists (ACLs) on multiple system files, including the Security Accounts Manager (SAM) database. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.\nAn attacker must have the ability to execute code on a victim system to exploit this vulnerability.\nAfter installing this security update, you must manually delete all shadow copies of system files, including the SAM database, to fully mitigate this vulnerabilty. Simply installing this security update will not fully mitigate this vulnerability. See KB5005357- Delete Volume Shadow Copies.","published":"2021-07-22T07:15:11.000Z","lastModified":"2026-08-10T20:19:01.000Z","status":"Analyzed","sourceIdentifier":"secure@microsoft.com","cvss":{"version":"3.1","score":7.8,"severity":"HIGH","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"},"cwe":[],"affected":["microsoft/windows 10 1809","microsoft/windows 10 1909","microsoft/windows 10 2004","microsoft/windows 10 20h2","microsoft/windows 10 21h1"],"epss":{"score":0.67252,"percentile":0.993,"date":"2026-10-30","history":[]},"kev":{"listed":true,"dateAdded":"2022-02-10","dueDate":"2022-02-24","knownRansomwareCampaignUse":"Unknown","notes":"Apply updates per vendor instructions.\nhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-36934"},"exploits":{"count":0,"verified":false,"firstPublished":null,"source":"Exploit-DB (https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb)","entries":[]},"verdict":{"level":"urgent","text":"Known to be exploited in the wild (CISA KEV, CISA remediation deadline 24 February 2022). Treat as an emergency change: patch or isolate now, then hunt for prior compromise."},"changes":[],"references":[{"url":"https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2021-36934","tags":["Patch","Vendor Advisory"],"source":"secure@microsoft.com"},{"url":"http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/164006/HiveNightmare-AKA-SeriousSAM.html","tags":["Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2021-36934","tags":["Patch","Vendor Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/506989","tags":["Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2021-36934","tags":["US Government Resource"],"source":"134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0"}],"sources":{"nvd":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-36934","epss":"https://www.first.org/epss/","kev":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","exploitdb":"https://www.exploit-db.com/"},"licence":"CC BY 4.0 — link back to the CVE Explorer if you publish the results; upstream data remains subject to its own terms."}