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Full vulnerability report · 2022
CVE-2021-37851High confidence

Local Privilege Escalation in ESET product for Windows

ESET, spol. s r.o. · ESET NOD32 Antivirus

7.3HighCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Within 7 days

High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Fix not verified
R
Operational reassessment

Published severity in operational context

Open reassessment dashboard →
Published severityHighOperational priority:Medium, lowered one band.downgradedsince 16 Sep 2024

Evidence used

  • No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
  • Exploitation requires an existing local or physical foothold with privileges.
  • EPSS is 0.21% for the current model date.

Compensating controls

  • Restrict local access and enforce least privilege on affected hosts.
  • Monitor vendor guidance and exploitation sources for a material change.

Verification

  1. Confirm that the asset runs ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET NOD32 Antivirus and falls inside the recorded affected range.
  2. Recheck the vendor advisory before scheduling a change because no verified fixed version is currently retained.
  3. Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
  4. Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Mitigation target: As exposure requiresRemediation target: Within 365 days

This automated reassessment organises public evidence. It does not know asset exposure, business impact or control effectiveness and does not replace CVSS or a human risk decision.

Optional official sources

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

Choose official national sources for this report. Each advisory shows its original language. Your selection is remembered on this device and included in shared links.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2021-24330

No EUVD known-exploited evidence

ENISA has published the identifier mapping but no EUVD description has been stored yet.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Not present in the current ENISA EUVD known-exploited dataset. This is not proof of no exploitation.
ENISA score
Not supplied in the stored EUVD record
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionWithin 7 days

High technical severity; prioritise exposed affected systems while verifying vendor guidance.

Fix not verified
01

What, why and how

Local privilege escalation in Windows products of ESET allows user who is logged into the system to exploit repair feature of the installer to run malicious code with higher privileges. This issue affects: ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET NOD32 Antivirus 11.2 versions prior to 15.1.12.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Internet Security 11.2 versions prior to 15.1.12.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Smart Security Premium 11.2 versions prior to 15.1.12.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Endpoint Antivirus 6.0 versions prior to 9.0.2046.0; 6.0 versions prior to 8.1.2050.0; 6.0 versions prior to 8.0.2053.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Endpoint Security 6.0 versions prior to 9.0.2046.0; 6.0 versions prior to 8.1.2050.0; 6.0 versions prior to 8.0.2053.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Server Security for Microsoft Windows Server 8.0 versions prior to 9.0.12012.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET File Security for Microsoft Windows Server 8.0.12013.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange Server 6.0 versions prior to 8.0.10020.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Mail Security for IBM Domino 6.0 versions prior to 8.0.14011.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Security for Microsoft SharePoint Server 6.0 versions prior to 8.0.15009.0.

What

Local privilege escalation in Windows products of ESET allows user who is logged into the system to exploit repair feature of the installer to run malicious code with higher privileges. This issue affects: ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET NOD32 Antivirus 11.2 versions prior to 15.1.12.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Internet Security 11.2 versions prior to 15.1.12.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Smart Security Premium 11.2 versions prior to 15.1.12.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Endpoint Antivirus 6.0 versions prior to 9.0.2046.0; 6.0 versions prior to 8.1.2050.0; 6.0 versions prior to 8.0.2053.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Endpoint Security 6.0 versions prior to 9.0.2046.0; 6.0 versions prior to 8.1.2050.0; 6.0 versions prior to 8.0.2053.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Server Security for Microsoft Windows Server 8.0 versions prior to 9.0.12012.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET File Security for Microsoft Windows Server 8.0.12013.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange Server 6.0 versions prior to 8.0.10020.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Mail Security for IBM Domino 6.0 versions prior to 8.0.14011.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Security for Microsoft SharePoint Server 6.0 versions prior to 8.0.15009.0.

Why

The product does not handle or incorrectly handles when it has insufficient privileges to access resources or functionality as specified by their permissions. This may cause it to follow unexpected code paths that may leave the product in an invalid state.

How

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

What

Local privilege escalation in Windows products of ESET allows user who is logged into the system to exploit repair feature of the installer to run malicious code with higher privileges. This issue affects: ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET NOD32 Antivirus 11.2 versions prior to 15.1.12.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Internet Security 11.2 versions prior to 15.1.12.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Smart Security Premium 11.2 versions prior to 15.1.12.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Endpoint Antivirus 6.0 versions prior to 9.0.2046.0; 6.0 versions prior to 8.1.2050.0; 6.0 versions prior to 8.0.2053.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Endpoint Security 6.0 versions prior to 9.0.2046.0; 6.0 versions prior to 8.1.2050.0; 6.0 versions prior to 8.0.2053.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Server Security for Microsoft Windows Server 8.0 versions prior to 9.0.12012.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET File Security for Microsoft Windows Server 8.0.12013.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange Server 6.0 versions prior to 8.0.10020.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Mail Security for IBM Domino 6.0 versions prior to 8.0.14011.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Security for Microsoft SharePoint Server 6.0 versions prior to 8.0.15009.0.

Why

The product does not handle or incorrectly handles when it has insufficient privileges to access resources or functionality as specified by their permissions. This may cause it to follow unexpected code paths that may leave the product in an invalid state.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with low privileges. 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 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.
None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path
local access → Improper Handling of Insufficient Permissions or Privileges → gain additional privileges
Attack surface
Local
Privileges required
Low: a basic authenticated account is required
User interaction
Required interaction required
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-280 ↗

CWE-280: Improper Handling of Insufficient Permissions or Privileges. The product does not handle or incorrectly handles when it has insufficient privileges to access resources or functionality as specified by their permissions. This may cause it to follow unexpected code paths that may leave the product in an invalid state.

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:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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.UIRequiredUser interaction: Another user must perform an action for exploitation to succeed.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-280
A

Official authority intelligence

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

Cyber Security Agency of Singapore · English · CSA-SB-20220518Security Bulletin 18 May 2022

The Cyber Security Agency of Singapore included this CVE in its official Security Bulletin 18 May 2022, published on 18 May 2022. Open the linked bulletin for the product, severity and reference information published in that issue.

Official advisory ↗
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2022-AVI-434Multiples vulnérabilités dans les produits ESET

De multiples vulnérabilités ont été découvertes dans les produits ESET. Elles permettent à un attaquant de provoquer une exécution de code arbitraire, une atteinte à l'intégrité des données et une élévation de privilèges.

Official advisory ↗
JVN iPedia · Japanese · JVNDB-2021-019582複数の ESET 製品における例外的な状態の処理に関する脆弱性

ESET Endpoint Antivirus、ESET Endpoint Security、ESET File Security 等複数の ESET 製品には、例外的な状態の処理に関する脆弱性が存在します。

Official advisory ↗
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.
Fix not verified
Affected
  • ESET NOD32 Antivirus: 11.2 < 15.1.12.0
  • ESET Internet Security: 11.2 < 15.1.12.0
  • ESET Smart Security Premium: 11.2 < 15.1.12.0
  • ESET Endpoint Antivirus: 6.0 < 9.0.2046.0
  • ESET Endpoint Security: 6.0 < 9.0.2046.0
  • ESET Server Security for Microsoft Windows Server: 8.0 < 9.0.12012.0
  • ESET File Security for Microsoft Windows Server: 6.0 8.0.12013.0
  • ESET Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange Server: 6.0 < 8.0.10020.0
  • ESET Mail Security for IBM Domino: 6.0 < 8.0.14011.0
  • ESET Security for Microsoft SharePoint Server: 6.0 < 8.0.15009.0
Fixed
No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
Action
No verified patch reference is present in the current structured sources. Check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Workaround
No verified workaround is recorded. Limit untrusted access and use least privilege until authoritative guidance is available.
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 11 May 2022 · Last source change 16 Sept 2024, 22:51 UTC · CWE-280 · Improper Handling of Insufficient Permissions or Privileges

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-2021-24330
Product sourceCNA
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCNA
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.

Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2021-24330↗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.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2021-37851 · cve.blacktree.nl