CVE-2021-42287 — Microsoft Active Directory Domain Services 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 — msrc.microsoft.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
• Documented patch — portal.msrc.microsoft.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)

CISA required action CISA

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

US federal deadline: May 2, 2022 — passed 1627 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 Server 2004, Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1…).
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 100% 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 77.17%

Detection

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

• Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
• Hunt retroactively in logs from before Apr 11, 2022 (KEV listing): exploitation may have started earlier.

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

• 2026
• Fix documented
  Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• Affected products added · microsoft/windows server 2004, microsoft/windows server 2008, microsoft/windows server 2012, microsoft/windows server 20
  Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• Source status changed · Published → Analyzed
  Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• Record published
  Oct 13, 2026
• Affected products added · microsoft/windows server 2008 r2 service pack 1, microsoft/windows server 2008 r2 service pack 1 (server core installati
  Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• CVSS changed · 7.5
  Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• Source status changed · → Published
  Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• SSVC assessment updated
  Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• Added to CISA KEV (detected)
  Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
• Record created in this database
  Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
• 2022
• Added to CISA KEV catalog
  Apr 10, 2022 · CISA
• 2021
• CVE published
  Nov 9, 2021 · microsoft

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

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

References

5 on the record

• portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2021-42287
  Patch, Vendor Advisory, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2021-42287
  vendor-advisory, patch, Patch, Vendor Advisory, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
  US Government Resource, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• github.com/advisories/GHSA-737r-5j68-97hh
  GitHub Security Advisories
• nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-42287
  GitHub Security Advisories

Elsewhere on this site

Related CVEs (same products)

• Medium CVE-2026-97844 Role: DNS Server Information Disclosure Vulnerability 2d
• Medium CVE-2026-97840 Role: DNS Server Information Disclosure Vulnerability 2d
• Medium CVE-2026-97839 Role: DNS Server Information Disclosure Vulnerability 2d
• Medium CVE-2026-97841 Role: DNS Server Information Disclosure Vulnerability 2d
• Medium CVE-2026-97843 Role: DNS Server Information Disclosure Vulnerability 2d
• Medium CVE-2026-97842 Role: DNS Server Information Disclosure Vulnerability 2d

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-2021-42287 is "Microsoft Active Directory Domain Services Privilege Escalation Vulnerability", rated High. It affects Windows Server 2004 (Microsoft); versions are in the scope table. It is in CISA KEV: there is evidence of real-world exploitation. CVSS 7.5 describes technical severity. EPSS 77.17% 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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