# CVE-2021-37852: LPE in ESET products for Windows

> An attacker can escalate privileges to SYSTEM by impersonating a client of a named pipe in ESET Windows security products.

- **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:** 9 Feb 2022
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-gj8g-jfxx-vxc7

## What is CVE-2021-37852?

CVE-2021-37852 is a high-severity vulnerability in ESET Endpoint Antivirus for Windows, published on 9 Feb 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

ESET products for Windows allows untrusted process to impersonate the client of a pipe, which can be leveraged by attacker to escalate privileges in the context of NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM.

Weakness: CWE-269 (Improper Privilege Management)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-37852?

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-2021-37852?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-37852 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-37852 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-37852 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in ESET Endpoint Antivirus for Windows

- [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-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-2021-37851](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-37851/): Local Privilege Escalation in ESET product for Windows (high 7.3)
- [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-2021-37852 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-37852 is a high-severity vulnerability in ESET Endpoint Antivirus for Windows, published on 9 Feb 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-37852 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: ESET Endpoint Antivirus for Windows. 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-2021-37852/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-37852/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-37852
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-37852
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-37852

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-37852/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.