Microsoft Windows up to Server 2019 privileges management

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as critical has been detected in Microsoft Windows. This issue affects some unknown processing. This manipulation causes an unknown weakness. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2021-26887. The attack is restricted to local execution. No exploit exists. It is suggested to install a patch to address this issue.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Microsoft Windows (Operating System) and classified as critical. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-269. The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

<p>An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Microsoft Windows when Folder redirection has been enabled via Group Policy. When folder redirection file server is co-located with Terminal server, an attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability would be able to begin redirecting another user's personal data to a created folder.</p> <p>To exploit the vulnerability, an attacker can create a new folder under the Folder Redirection root path and create a junction on a newly created User folder. When the new user logs in, Folder Redirection would start redirecting to the folder and copying personal data.</p> <p>This elevation of privilege vulnerability can only be addressed by reconfiguring Folder Redirection with Offline files and restricting permissions, and NOT via a security update for affected Windows Servers. See the <strong>FAQ</strong> section of this CVE for configuration guidance.</p>

The weakness was disclosed 03/09/2021 as confirmed security guidance (Website). The advisory is shared at portal.msrc.microsoft.com. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2021-26887. Neither technical details nor an exploit are publicly available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 02/25/2026). MITRE ATT&CK project uses the attack technique T1068 for this issue. The advisory points out:

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Microsoft Windows when Folder redirection has been enabled via Group Policy. When folder redirection file server is co-located with Terminal server, an attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability would be able to begin redirecting another user's personal data to a created folder. To exploit the vulnerability, an attacker can create a new folder under the Folder Redirection root path and create a junction on a newly created User folder. When the new user logs in, Folder Redirection would start redirecting to the folder and copying personal data. This elevation of privilege vulnerability can only be addressed by reconfiguring Folder Redirection with Offline files and restricting permissions, and NOT via a security update for affected Windows Servers. See the FAQ section of this CVE for configuration guidance.

Applying a patch is able to eliminate this problem. A possible mitigation has been published immediately after the disclosure of the vulnerability.

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Microsoft

Name

• Windows

Version

• 7 SP1
• 8.1
• 10
• 10 1607
• 10 1803
• RT 8.1
• Server 2008 R2 SP1
• Server 2008 SP2
• Server 2012
• Server 2012 R2
• Server 2016
• Server 2019

License

• commercial

Website

• Vendor: https://www.microsoft.com/
• Product: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows

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Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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