CVE-2021-1733: Sysinternals PsExec Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Recommended actionWithin 7 days

High technical severity with public exploit material referenced by a structured source; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Patch available

What, why and how

Sysinternals PsExec Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

What

Sysinternals PsExec Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Why

The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may gain additional privileges.

What

Sysinternals PsExec Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Why

The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. If successful, the issue may gain additional privileges.

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation

Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.

No confirmed evidence

No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.

Public PoC / exploit material

Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.

Reference recorded

CISA Vulnrichment records proof-of-concept exploitation in its SSVC data. BlackTree has not independently executed or validated exploit material.

Likely attack path: local access → Improper Privilege Management → gain additional privileges
Attack surface: Local
Privileges required: Low: a basic authenticated account is required
User interaction: None
Attack complexity: Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary: Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
Weakness ? CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness.: CWE-269 ↗
CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management. The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.
CVSS vector ? CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:P/RL:O/RC:C
Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.
AVLocalAttack vector: The attacker needs local access to the vulnerable system.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRLowPrivileges required: The attacker needs basic user-level privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.
Post-exploitation / living off the land: The issue can support a local privilege or sandbox boundary transition; normal system utilities may then be available in the gained context.

Privilege escalationCWE-269Public exploit reference

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2021-7197Official EUVD mapping

0 linked advisory records.

Official EUVD record ↗

Cyber Security Agency of Singapore · English · CSA-SB-20210303Security Bulletin 03 Mar 2021

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore included this CVE in its official Security Bulletin 03 Mar 2021, published on 3 March 2021. Open the linked bulletin for the product, severity and reference information published in that issue.

Official advisory ↗

CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2021-AVI-107Multiples vulnérabilités dans les produits Microsoft

De multiples vulnérabilités ont été corrigées dans les produits Microsoft . Elles permettent à un attaquant de provoquer une exécution de code à distance, une usurpation d'identité, une atteinte à la confidentialité des données, un déni de service et une élévation de privilèges.

Official advisory ↗

JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2021-001164Sysinternals PsExec における権限を昇格される脆弱性

Sysinternals PsExec には、権限を昇格される脆弱性が存在します。

Official advisory ↗

KISA KrCERT/CC · Korean · KNVD-5271MS 2월 보안 위협에 따른 정기 보안 업데이트 권고

eams iOS Information Disclosure Vulnerability Microsoft Windows Codecs Library CVE-2021-24091 Windows 카메라 코덱 팩 원격 코드 실행 취약성 Microsoft Windows Codecs Library CVE-2021-24081 Microsoft Windows 코덱 라이브러리 원격 코드 실행 취약성 Netlogon CVE-2020-1472 NetLogon 권한 상승 취약성 Role: DNS Server CVE-2021-24078 Windows DNS 서버 원격 코드 실행 취약성 Role: Hyper-V CVE-2021-24076 Microsoft Windows VMSwitch 정보 유출 취약성 Role: Windows Fax Service CVE-2021-24077 Windows Fax 서비스 원격 코드 실행 취약성 Role: Windows Fax Service CVE-2021-1722 Windows Fax 서비스 원격 코드 실행 취약성 Skype for Business CVE-2021-24099 비즈니스용 Skype 서비스 거부 취약성 Skype for Business CVE-2021-24073 비즈니스용 Skype 및 Lync 스푸핑 취약성 SysInternals CVE-2021-1733 Sysinternals PsExec 권한 상승 취약성 System Center CVE-2021-1728 System Center Operations Manager 권한 상승 취약성 Visual Studio CVE-2021-1639 Visual Studio Code 원격 코드 실행 취약성 Visual Studio Code CVE-2021-26700 Visual Studio Code npm-script Extension Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Windows Address Book CVE-2021-24083 Windows 주소록 원격 코드 실행 취약성 Windows Backup Engine CVE-2021-24079 Windows 백업 엔진 정보 유출 취약성 Windows Console Driver CVE-2021-24098 Windows 콘솔 드라이버 서비스 거부 취약성 Windows Defender CVE-2021-24092 Microsoft Defender 권한 상승 취약성 Windows DirectX CVE-2021-24106 Windows DirectX 정보 유출 취약성 Windows Event Tracing CVE-2021-24103 Windows 이벤트 추적 권한 상승 취약성 Windows Eve

Official advisory ↗

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status ? Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.: Patch available
Affected: PsExec: < publication
Fixed: An authoritative update reference is available, but the fixed version is not recorded in the structured CVE fields. Check the linked vendor advisory for the applicable release.
Action: Review the linked authoritative reference and apply the recorded fixed release appropriate to the affected product branch.
Workaround: No verified workaround is recorded. Limit untrusted access and use least privilege until authoritative guidance is available.

Evidence and provenance

Published 25 Feb 2021 · Last source change 19 Nov 2024, 15:34 UTC · CWE-269 · Improper Privilege Management

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1

CVSS sourceCNA

EPSS source

The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.

FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14

European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2021-7197

Product sourceCNA

Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references

CWE sourceNIST NVD

NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment

Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates ↗

No material field changes have been recorded since change tracking began. Routine source refreshes and cosmetic edits are intentionally excluded.

2021-02-25CVE published

2024-11-19Fixed release or patch reference recorded

ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2021-7197↗CISA Vulnrichment SSVC evidence↗CVE authority or vendor reference↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗

Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report

CVE: Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS: Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS: Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE: Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA: CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP: Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD: National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT: A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC: Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF: Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL: Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.

Sysinternals PsExec Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

National CERT insights
?
CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

EUVD-2021-7197

What, why and how

Exploit reality and attack path

Official authority intelligence

Patch and workaround

Evidence and provenance

What changed after publication

Sysinternals PsExec Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

National CERT insights ?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

EUVD-2021-7197

What, why and how

Exploit reality and attack path

Official authority intelligence

Patch and workaround

Evidence and provenance

National CERT insights
?
CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.