CVE-2021-36955 | Windows Common Log File System Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

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Windows Common Log File System Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Published: 2021-09-15 Last update: 2025-10-30 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2021-36955 is rated Critical Active Threat (89.7/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 20.71%, 96th percentile). Core evidence: CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2021-11-03) affecting Microsoft / Windows. Unauthenticated remote administrative access may be possible. Mandatory action: The CISA remediation deadline has passed—treat as an emergency patch priority.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

CISA KEV Record for CVE-2021-36955

Name: Microsoft Windows Common Log File System (CLFS) Driver Privilege Escalation Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail

Exploit added: 2021-11-03

Action due: 2021-11-17

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2021-36955

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-05-07 20.64% 20.71% +0.07%
2 2026-02-06 23.79% 20.64% -3.15%
3 2026-01-21 23.79%

Full EPSS history (37 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2021-36955

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

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]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2021-36955

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2021-36955

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
microsoft windows_10_1507 < 10.0.10240.19060 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1507:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_10_1607 < 10.0.14393.4651 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1607:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_10_1809 < 10.0.17763.2183 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1809:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_10_1909 < 10.0.18363.1801 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_1909:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_10_2004 < 10.0.19041.1237 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_2004:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_10_20h2 < 10.0.19042.1237 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_20h2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_10_21h1 < 10.0.19043.1237 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10_21h1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_7 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_7:-:sp1:*:*:-:*:-:*
microsoft windows_8.1 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_8.1:-:*:*:*:-:*:-:*
microsoft windows_rt_8.1 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_rt_8.1:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2004 < 10.0.19041.1237 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2004:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2008 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:-:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2008 r2 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:r2:sp1:*:*:*:*:x64:*
microsoft windows_server_2012 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2012:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2012 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2012:-:r2:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2016 < 10.0.14393.4651 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2016:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2019 < 10.0.17763.2183 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2019:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2022 < 10.0.20348.230 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2022:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_20h2 < 10.0.19042.1237 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_20h2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2021-36955

cvelogic Threat Intelligence