# CVE-2021-35449: Privilege escalation in n/a

> A low-privileged user can escalate privileges to SYSTEM by loading a malicious DLL during the printer addition process in Lexmark drivers.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 19 Jul 2021
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-29rp-7r7x-62j8

## What is CVE-2021-35449?

CVE-2021-35449 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 19 Jul 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Lexmark Universal Print Driver version 2.15.1.0 and below, G2 driver 2.7.1.0 and below, G3 driver 3.2.0.0 and below, and G4 driver 4.2.1.0 and below are affected by a privilege escalation vulnerability. A standard low priviliged user can use the driver to execute a DLL of their choosing during the add printer process, resulting in escalation of privileges to SYSTEM.

Weakness: CWE-732 (Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-35449?

It affects 4 products.


Products: Lexmark G2 Driver, Lexmark G3 Driver, Lexmark G4 Driver, Lexmark Universal Print Driver.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-35449?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-35449 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-35449 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2021-35449 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Lexmark Driver Privilege Escalation (metasploit)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-35449 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-35449 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 19 Jul 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2021-35449 exists.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-35449/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-35449/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-35449
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-35449
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-35449

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-35449/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.