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CVE Record

CVE-2021-1732: Windows Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Windows Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

HighCVSS 7.8Known exploitedUpdated
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysis

Security readout for executives and security teams

CVE-2021-1732 lets an attacker who already has local low-privilege access on affected Windows systems gain elevated privileges. It is not a direct remote entry point, but it can turn a workstation or server foothold into full compromise. CISA lists it as known exploited, so lagging patch coverage is the main business risk. Exposure is most likely on unpatched Windows 10 versions 1803, 1809, 1909, 2004, 20H2, and listed Windows Server variants. Systems reachable by ordinary users, shared workstations, VDI, and servers where attackers may gain initial low-privilege access deserve priority review. Treat this as a priority patch-compliance issue. It is not an internet-facing remote exploit by itself, but known exploitation means attackers can use it to expand control after getting a foothold. Mitigation focus: Apply the Microsoft security update or guidance for CVE-2021-1732.; Prioritize remediation because CISA lists this CVE in KEV.; Retire or isolate unsupported affected Windows builds..

Prepared

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

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cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-787: Exact CWE lookup

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description · low confidence lookup

Privilege behavior lookup

The CVE wording references privilege impact, so privilege escalation and authorization behavior review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2021-1732 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
7.8 (3.1)
Known Exploited
Yes
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:F/RL:O/RC:C

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
3Source links

CISA KEV status

Status
Known exploited
Source
CISA / ADP
Date added
Not provided

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
7.8CVSS 3.1HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:F/RL:O/RC:C1.85.9Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

7.8High
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2021-1732Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:F/RL:O/RC:C

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone
Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
MicrosoftWindows 10 Version 180310.0.0Listed
MicrosoftWindows 10 Version 180910.0.0Listed
MicrosoftWindows Server 201910.0.0Listed
MicrosoftWindows Server 2019 (Server Core installation)10.0.0Listed
MicrosoftWindows 10 Version 190910.0.0Listed
MicrosoftWindows Server, version 1909 (Server Core installation)10.0.0Listed
MicrosoftWindows 10 Version 200410.0.0Listed
MicrosoftWindows Server version 200410.0.0Listed
MicrosoftWindows 10 Version 20H210.0.0Listed
MicrosoftWindows Server version 20H210.0.0Listed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-787 · source CWE mapping

Out-of-bounds Write

Out-of-bounds Write represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.