# CVE-2021-37851: Local Privilege Escalation in ESET product for Windows

> A local attacker can exploit the installer repair feature to execute malicious code with elevated privileges on systems running ESET security products.

- **Severity:** High 7.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/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:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 11 May 2022
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-vfr8-h6pw-gfpc

## What is CVE-2021-37851?

CVE-2021-37851 is a high-severity vulnerability in ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Endpoint Antivirus, published on 11 May 2022. 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

Local privilege escalation in Windows products of ESET allows user who is logged into the system to exploit repair feature of the installer to run malicious code with higher privileges. This issue affects: ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET NOD32 Antivirus 11.2 versions prior to 15.1.12.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Internet Security 11.2 versions prior to 15.1.12.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Smart Security Premium 11.2 versions prior to 15.1.12.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Endpoint Antivirus 6.0 versions prior to 9.0.2046.0; 6.0 versions prior to 8.1.2050.0; 6.0 versions prior to 8.0.2053.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Endpoint Security 6.0 versions prior to 9.0.2046.0; 6.0 versions prior to 8.1.2050.0; 6.0 versions prior to 8.0.2053.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Server Security for Microsoft Windows Server 8.0 versions prior to 9.0.12012.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET File Security for Microsoft Windows Server 8.0.12013.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Mail Security for Microsoft Exchange Server 6.0 versions prior to 8.0.10020.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Mail Security for IBM Domino 6.0 versions prior to 8.0.14011.0. ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Security for Microsoft SharePoint Server 6.0 versions prior to 8.0.15009.0.

Weakness: CWE-755 (Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions), CWE-280 (Improper Handling of Insufficient Permissions or Privileges)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-37851?

It affects 9 products.


Products: Eset Endpoint Antivirus, Eset Endpoint Security, Eset File Security, Eset Internet Security, Eset Mail Security, Eset Nod32 Antivirus, Eset Security, Eset Server Security, Eset Smart Security.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-37851?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-37851 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-37851 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-37851 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Endpoint Antivirus

- [CVE-2024-0353](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-0353/): Local privilege escalation in Windows products (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2023-3160](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-3160/): Local privilege escalation in security products for Windows (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2021-37852](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-37852/): LPE in ESET products for Windows (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2023-5594](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-5594/): Improper following of a certificate's chain of trust in ESET security products (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2022-27167](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-27167/): Arbitrary File Deletion in ESET products for Windows (high 7.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-37851 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-37851 is a high-severity vulnerability in ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Endpoint Antivirus, published on 11 May 2022. 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-2021-37851 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: ESET, spol. s r.o. ESET Endpoint Antivirus. 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-2021-37851/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-37851/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-37851
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-37851
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-37851

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-37851/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.