CVE-2026-21533
HIGH severity · CVSS 7.8 · Improper privilege management · actively exploited (CISA KEV)
7.8CVSS HIGH ● exploited
🔴 Actively exploited in the wild (CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities).
Added to KEV 2026-02-10. US federal agencies must patch by 2026-03-03.
Summary
Improper privilege management in Windows Remote Desktop allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally.
Impact & exploitability
Attack vectorLocal
Attack complexityLow
Privileges requiredLow
User interactionNone
Confidentiality impactHigh
Integrity impactHigh
Availability impactHigh
Exploit probability (EPSS)20%
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Affected products we track (1)
Recommendation
This vulnerability is being actively exploited in the wild — patch affected products urgently. Open any affected product above for its exact safe version.
Additional information
- NVD record
- https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-21533Advisory
- https://www.vicarius.io/vsociety/posts/cve-2026-21533-mitigation-script-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-in-windows-remote-desktopAdvisory
- https://www.vicarius.io/vsociety/posts/cve-2026-21533-detection-script-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-in-windows-remote-desktopAdvisory
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2026-21533