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CVE-2021-36934

Is CVE-2021-36934 real, exploitable, or a false positive? Here's the community verdict.

signals

public sources

Exploited in wild
Yes
CISA KEV
Public exploit
PoC (unverified)
Metasploit/EDB/PoC
Base severity
7.8 High
CVSS
Exploitation prob.
67%
FIRST EPSS
Weakness
CWE-1220
CWE

Confirmed exploited in the wild. Patch this first, regardless of the base score.

public exploits

links to sources — we don’t host code

Unverified proof-of-concept code has been published. It may or may not be functional — assess before relying on it.

baseline read

auto · not a community verdict

Real — exploited in the wild

CISA confirms active exploitation. Treat scanner hits as true positives unless your specific version or config is unaffected.

Based on CISA KEV

Confirm or dispute →
Affected:Microsoft

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

<p>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.</p> <p>An attacker must have the ability to execute code on a victim system to exploit this vulnerability.</p> <p>After installing this security update, you <em>must</em> manually delete all shadow copies of system files, including the SAM database, to fully mitigate this vulnerabilty. <strong>Simply installing this security update will not fully mitigate this vulnerability.</strong> See <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/topic/1ceaa637-aaa3-4b58-a48b-baf72a2fa9e7">KB5005357- Delete Volume Shadow Copies</a>.</p>

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In your experience, is this finding real and exploitable?

awaiting field verdicts
Real, but not a risk here
Not a real issue

Curated baseline: TruePositive's read from public sources is Real & exploitable — a starting point, not a community verdict.

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Field notes & remediation

Verdicts are the quick signal. Notes are the evidence and fixes behind them.

  • 0
    Field note · TruePositive EditorialCurated

    Microsoft Windows SAM Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability — If a Volume Shadow Copy (VSS) shadow copy of the system drive is available, users can read the SAM file which would allow any user to escalate privileges to SYSTEM level. Listed in the CISA KEV catalog (added 2022-02-10) — confirmed exploited in the wild, not theoretical. FIRST EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at ~67%. Treat it as real and prioritize remediation over triage.

  • 0
    Remediation · TruePositive EditorialCurated

    Required action for Microsoft Windows: Apply updates per vendor instructions. CISA set a federal remediation due date of 2022-02-24. After patching, verify the vulnerable path is no longer reachable before closing the finding.

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Same weakness: CWE-1220.