CVE-2021-36948 [Exploited] | Microsoft WINDOWS 10 1809

CVE-2021-36948 is rated Critical Active Threat (95.2/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 19.91%, 97th percentile). CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2021-11-03) affecting Microsoft / Windows. Unauthenticated remote administrative access may be possible. EPSS rose +18.96% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. The CISA remediation deadline has passed—treat as an emergency patch priority.

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-06-15	0.95%	19.91%	+18.96%
2	2026-06-07	1.10%	0.95%	-0.14%
3	2026-03-17	—	1.10%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-06-15

0.95%

19.91%

+18.96%

2026-06-07

1.10%

0.95%

-0.14%

2026-03-17

—

1.10%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
7.8	3.1	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:L) A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	1.8	5.9	[email protected]
7.8	3.1	HIGH	`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:L) A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin. User interaction (UI:N) Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	1.8	5.9	[email protected]
4.6	2.0	MEDIUM	`AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P` Click to expand Access vector (AV:L) Requires local access to the target system. Access complexity (AC:L) Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable. Authentication (AU:N) No authentication is required. Confidentiality impact (C:P) Partial confidentiality impact. Integrity impact (I:P) Partial integrity impact. Availability impact (A:P) Partial availability impact.	3.9	6.4	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

7.8

3.1

HIGH

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

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L): A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

1.8

5.9

[email protected]

7.8

3.1

HIGH

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

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L): A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N): Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

1.8

5.9

[email protected]

4.6

2.0

MEDIUM

AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand

Access vector (AV:L): Requires local access to the target system.
Access complexity (AC:L): Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N): No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P): Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P): Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P): Partial availability impact.

3.9

6.4

[email protected]

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-36948

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
microsoft	windows_10_1809	< 10.0.17763.2114	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1809::::::::
microsoft	windows_10_1909	< 10.0.18363.1734	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1909::::::::
microsoft	windows_10_2004	< 10.0.19041.1165	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_2004::::::::
microsoft	windows_10_20h2	< 10.0.19042.1165	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_20h2::::::::
microsoft	windows_10_21h1	< 10.0.19043.1165	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_21h1::::::::
microsoft	windows_server_2004	< 10.0.19041.1165	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2004::::::::
microsoft	windows_server_2019	< 10.0.17763.2114	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2019::::::::
microsoft	windows_server_20h2	< 10.0.19042.1165	cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_20h2::::::::

References for CVE-2021-36948

URL	Tags
https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2021-36948	Patch Vendor Advisory
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2021-36948	US Government Resource

URL

CVE-2021-36948 | Windows Update Medic Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

CISA KEV Record for CVE-2021-36948

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-36948

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-36948

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-36948

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-36948

References for CVE-2021-36948