# CVE-2021-36945: Windows 10 Update Assistant Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

> An attacker can exploit this vulnerability in the Windows 10 Update Assistant to gain elevated privileges on the system.

- **Severity:** High 7.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 12 Aug 2021
- **Updated:** 10 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-5553-x48j-7mwr

## What is CVE-2021-36945?

CVE-2021-36945 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Update Assistant, published on 12 Aug 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Windows 10 Update Assistant Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-36945?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Microsoft Windows 10 Update Assistant.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-36945?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-36945 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-36945 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-36945 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows Update Assistant

- [CVE-2019-1378](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-1378/): Privilege escalation in Windows Update Assistant (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2021-43211](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-43211/): Windows 10 Update Assistant Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability (medium 5.5)
- [CVE-2021-42297](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-42297/): Windows 10 Update Assistant Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability (medium 5.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-36945 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-36945 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Update Assistant, published on 12 Aug 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-36945 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Microsoft Windows Update Assistant. 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-2021-36945/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-36945/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-36945
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-36945
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-36945

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-36945/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.