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Mallory
HighCISA KEVExploited in the wildPublic exploit

Windows Common Log File System Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

IdentifiersCVE-2021-43226CWE-664

CVE-2021-43226 is a local elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Windows Common Log File System (CLFS) driver. The provided content identifies it as a Windows CLFS driver privilege escalation issue and further characterizes it as being caused by improper object management. No vulnerable function or code path is provided in the source material. Successful exploitation would involve abusing the CLFS driver locally to elevate privileges on a Windows system.

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For your environment

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation allows a local attacker to elevate privileges on the affected Windows host. Based on the provided content, the vulnerability is a high-severity local privilege escalation issue and has been reported as actively exploited in the wild, including later inclusion in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. This can enable an attacker who already has code execution in a low-privilege context to obtain higher privileges and potentially full system compromise.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

Because this is a local privilege escalation vulnerability, mitigations are limited compared with patching. Until patches can be applied, reduce opportunities for local code execution by restricting user access, minimizing interactive logon rights, enforcing least privilege, monitoring for suspicious post-exploitation behavior, and isolating or hardening high-risk or legacy systems. Prioritize systems exposed to untrusted users or already suspected of compromise.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Apply the relevant Microsoft security update for CVE-2021-43226 to affected Windows systems. The content also indicates CISA KEV inclusion, so remediation should be prioritized in accordance with organizational vulnerability management and any applicable compliance deadlines. Where possible, verify patch deployment across all affected endpoints and servers.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

No public exploits tracked yet. Mallory keeps watching.

VALID 0 / 0 TOTALView more in app

No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType
Microsoft CorporationWindows 10operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows 10 1507operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows 10 1607operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows 10 1809operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows 10 1909operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows 10 2004operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows 10 20h2operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows 10 21h1operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows 10 21h2operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows 11operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows 11 21h2operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows 7operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows 8.1operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows Rt 8.1operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows Serveroperating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows Server 2004operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows Server 2008operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows Server 2008 R2operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows Server 2008 Sp2operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows Server 2012operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows Server 2012 R2operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows Server 2016operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows Server 2019operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows Server 2022operating_system
Microsoft CorporationWindows Server 20h2operating_system

Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.

What this page doesn’t show

The version that knows your environment.

This page is what’s public. Mallory adds the parts that aren’t: which of your assets are affected, which adversaries are exploiting it right now, which detections to deploy, and what to do tonight.
Exposure mapping

Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.

Threat actor evidence

Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.

Associated malware

Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.

Detection signatures1

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity10

Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.