Evidence used
- CISA confirms exploitation in the wild.
- A structured source references public exploit or proof-of-concept material.
- EPSS is 99.99% for the current model date.
BlackTreeCVE IntelligenceFull vulnerability report · 2021
CVE-2021-34523High confidence
Microsoft Exchange Server Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
Microsoft · Exchange Server
9.0CriticalCVSS 3.1
Patch now
Patch availableCISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2021-11-17 as the remediation due date.
R
Open reassessment dashboard →Operational reassessment
Published severity in operational context
Published severityCritical→Operational priority:Critical, unchanged from published severity.unchanged
Compensating controls
- Validate the affected product branch and deploy the verified fixed release.
- Restrict local access and enforce least privilege on affected hosts.
- Increase monitoring for the attack path and post-exploitation behaviour described in the report.
Verification
- Confirm that the asset runs Microsoft Exchange Server and falls inside the recorded affected range.
- Verify the installed build against the product-specific fixed version after deployment.
- Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
- Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2021-11-17 as the remediation due date.
Patch available01
What, why and how
Microsoft Exchange Server contains an unspecified vulnerability that allows for privilege escalation.
What
Microsoft Exchange Server contains an unspecified vulnerability that allows for privilege escalation.
Why
The affected component does not establish the requesting party's identity reliably before granting access.
How
An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may gain additional privileges.
What
Microsoft Exchange Server contains an unspecified vulnerability that allows for privilege escalation.
Why
The affected component does not establish the requesting party's identity reliably before granting access.
How
An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation without authentication or user interaction. If successful, the issue may gain additional privileges.
02
Exploit reality and attack path
CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.
Observed exploitation Confirmed in the wild
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.CISA added this CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on 2021-11-03. Known ransomware campaign use is recorded.
Public PoC / exploit material Reference recorded
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.A structured CVE source labels at least one public reference as exploit material. BlackTree has not independently validated that it is safe, reliable or weaponised.
- Likely attack path
- local access → Improper Authentication → gain additional privileges
- Attack surface
- Local
- Privileges required
- None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
- Security boundary
- Changed: exploitation can affect a different security authority
- Weakness
?
CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness. - CWE-287 ↗
CWE-287: Improper Authentication. When an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct.
- 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:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:CCommon 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.PRNonePrivileges required: The attacker does not need an account or existing privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SChangedScope: The attack can affect a component governed by a different security authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.ANoneAvailability impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.- 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.
03
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
- Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 Cumulative Update 8: 15.02.0 < 15.02.0792.013
- Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 Cumulative Update 23: 15.00.0 < 15.00.1497.015
- Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 Cumulative Update 20: 15.01.0 < 15.01.2242.008
- Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 Cumulative Update 19: 15.01.0 < 15.01.2176.012
- Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 Cumulative Update 9: 15.02.0 < 15.02.0858.010
- 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.
04
Evidence and provenance
Published 14 Jul 2021 · Last source change 10 Aug 2026, 15:11 UTC · CWE-287 · Improper Authentication
CVE recordCVE.org · 5.2
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
?
The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2021-21177
Product sourceCISA KEV
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCISA KEV
NVD statusNVD enriched
Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.
Material change intelligence
View recent updates ↗What changed after publication
- Affected versionsThe structured affected or fixed version information changed.CNA ↗
- Before
- 15.00.0 < 15.00.1497.015; 15.01.0 < 15.01.2176.012; 15.01.0 < 15.01.2242.008; 15.02.0 < 15.02.0792.013; 15.02.0 < 15.02.0858.010 · 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.
- After
- Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 Cumulative Update 23: 15.00.0 < 15.00.1497.015; Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 Cumulative Update 19: 15.01.0 < 15.01.2176.012; Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 Cumulative Update 20: 15.01.0 < 15.01.2242.008; Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 Cumulative Update 8: 15.02.0 < 15.02.0792.013; Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 Cumulative Update 9: 15.02.0 < 15.02.0858.010 · 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.
CVE published
Added to CISA KEV
Fixed release or patch reference recorded
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.