How severe is CVE-2021-36948?

CVE-2021-36948 has a CVSS score of 7.8/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2021-36948?

Affected package information for CVE-2021-36948 is not yet fully mapped. Check the official advisory links for details.

How do I fix CVE-2021-36948?

No fixed version has been published for CVE-2021-36948 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates, apply mitigations recommended by the vendor, and use O3 Security to track when a fix becomes available in your stack.

Is CVE-2021-36948 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 3 known exploit references for CVE-2021-36948, including 3 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2021-36948?

CVE-2021-36948 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 1.0%, placing it in the 77th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

Is CVE-2021-36948 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2021-36948 (Microsoft Windows Update Medic Service Privilege Escalation Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2021-11-03. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2021-11-17. The required action was: Apply updates per vendor instructions. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2021-36948?

CVE-2021-36948 affects microsoft windows 10 20h2; microsoft windows 10 21h1; microsoft windows 10 1809; microsoft windows 10 1909, and 4 more product(s). Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

When was CVE-2021-36948 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2021-36948 was published on August 12, 2021 and was last updated on October 30, 2025. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CISA KEV·Added 2021-11-03 — agencies required to remediate by 2021-11-17

CVE-2021-36948

HIGH

Windows Update Medic Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Published

Aug 12, 2021

Updated

Oct 30, 2025

Affected

0 pkgs

Patched

None yet

Exploits

3 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

1.0%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk77th percentile-0.10%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Description

Windows Update Medic Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Affected Products

8 products · 8 configurations

windows 10 20h2microsoft

< 10.0.19042.1165

range

windows 10 21h1microsoft

< 10.0.19043.1165

range

windows 10 1809microsoft

< 10.0.17763.2114

range

windows 10 1909microsoft

< 10.0.18363.1734

range

windows 10 2004microsoft

< 10.0.19041.1165

range

windows server 20h2microsoft

< 10.0.19042.1165

range

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

Windows Update Medic Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

portal.msrc.microsoft.comMSAug 2021

Windows Update Medic Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

msrc.microsoft.comGoogle-sheetAug 2021

Windows Update Medic Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

cisa.govCISANov 2021

Frequently Asked Questions

Windows Update Medic Service Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2021-36948 in your stack?

O3 detects CVE-2021-36948 across dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my stack How O3 SCA works