Free AI Safety Workshop — in collaboration with explainx.aiSave your seat
AgentbeamBeta
Known exploited vulnerability · Microsoft

CVE-2021-36934: Microsoft Windows SAM Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

highCVSS 3.1 7.8Exploited

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.

Published Jul 22, 2021 · Updated Aug 10, 2026

Required action

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Advisory details

From the National Vulnerability Database. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.

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. An attacker must have the ability to execute code on a victim system to exploit this vulnerability. After 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.

References

How this page is made: the data panel comes from the GitHub Advisory Database, CISA’s KEV catalog, the NVD and FIRST EPSS, and updates twice a day. No analysis has been written for this entry yet. Methodology

More Microsoft vulnerabilities

All Microsoft entries