CVE-2021-33739 — Microsoft Desktop Window Manager (DWM) Core Library Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

• Documented patch — portal.msrc.microsoft.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)

CISA required action CISA

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

US federal deadline: Nov 17, 2021 — passed 1793 day(s) ago

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Microsoft Windows 10 1909, Microsoft Windows 10 2004, Microsoft Windows 10 20h2…).
2. Treat as emergency remediation: the CVE is in CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).
3. Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
4. EPSS ahead of 94% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
5. Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

CISA KEV details CISA

CISA lists a CVE once it has evidence of exploitation against real targets.

CISA records ransomware use only for campaigns it has confirmed, so “Unknown” means unrecorded, not ruled out. The deadline binds US federal agencies; for everyone else it is a reference date.

Public exploits, PoCs and detection templates

Public code that demonstrates or tests the flaw raises the odds of mass exploitation — and Nuclei templates help find vulnerable assets in your environment.

Warning: public PoCs are sometimes disguised malware. Use them only for authorized testing in an isolated environment. This portal does not host exploit code — it only points to the sources.

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 6.56%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

• Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
• Hunt retroactively in logs from before Nov 3, 2021 (KEV listing): exploitation may have started earlier.

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

• 2026
• Affected products added · microsoft/windows 10 version 1909, microsoft/windows 10 version 21h1, microsoft/windows 10 version 2004, microsoft/windo
  Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• SSVC assessment updated
  Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• Record published
  Oct 13, 2026
• Fix documented
  Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• Affected products added · microsoft/windows 10 1909, microsoft/windows 10 2004, microsoft/windows 10 20h2, microsoft/windows 10 21h1, microsoft/wi
  Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• CVSS changed · 8.4
  Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• Source status changed · → Analyzed
  Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• Added to CISA KEV (detected)
  Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
• Record created in this database
  Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
• 2021
• Added to CISA KEV catalog
  Nov 2, 2021 · CISA
• CVE published
  Jun 8, 2021 · microsoft

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

• 2× References added · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
• 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

4 on the record

• portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2021-33739
  Patch, Vendor Advisory, x_refsource_MISC, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
  US Government Resource, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-33739
  GitHub Security Advisories
• github.com/advisories/GHSA-4mwq-m8xw-34mr
  GitHub Security Advisories

Elsewhere on this site

Related CVEs (same products)

• High CVE-2026-50508 Windows NTLM Spoofing Vulnerability Jun 9, 2026
• Medium CVE-2023-36584 Microsoft Windows Mark of the Web (MOTW) Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability KEV Oct 10, 2023
• High CVE-2023-28252 Microsoft Windows Common Log File System (CLFS) Driver Privilege Escalation Vulnerability KEV Apr 11, 2023
• High CVE-2023-28229 Microsoft Windows CNG Key Isolation Service Privilege Escalation Vulnerability KEV Apr 11, 2023
• Medium CVE-2023-24880 Microsoft Windows SmartScreen Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability KEV Mar 14, 2023
• High CVE-2023-21823 Microsoft Windows Graphic Component Privilege Escalation Vulnerability KEV Feb 14, 2023

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

• No CWE classification.
• No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
• No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
• No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2021-33739 is "Microsoft Desktop Window Manager (DWM) Core Library Privilege Escalation Vulnerability", rated High. It affects Windows 10 1909 (Microsoft); versions are in the scope table. It is in CISA KEV: there is evidence of real-world exploitation. CVSS 8.4 describes technical severity. EPSS 6.56% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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