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Vulnerability DatabaseCVE-2021-26415

CVE-2021-26415: 
vulnerability analysis and mitigation

Overview

The Windows Installer Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability (CVE-2021-26415) was discovered and reported on December 16, 2020, affecting various Microsoft Windows installations. This vulnerability exists within the Windows Installer service and was publicly disclosed on April 15, 2021 (ZDI Advisory).

Technical details

The vulnerability stems from the lack of proper validation of user-supplied paths prior to using them in file operations within the Windows Installer service. It received a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.3 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating high severity. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-269, which relates to privilege escalation issues (ZDI Advisory).

Impact

When successfully exploited, this vulnerability allows local attackers to write data to arbitrary files on affected installations of Microsoft Windows. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of an administrator (ZDI Advisory).

Mitigation and workarounds

Microsoft has issued a security update to address this vulnerability. Users are advised to apply the available patches through the Microsoft security update system (Microsoft Advisory).

Additional resources

Source: This report was generated using AI

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