Vulnerabilities > CVE-2021-1661 - Improper Initialization vulnerability in Microsoft products

Attack vector

UNKNOWN

Attack complexity

UNKNOWN

Privileges required

UNKNOWN

Confidentiality impact

UNKNOWN

Integrity impact

UNKNOWN

Availability impact

UNKNOWN

NVD

Published: 2021-01-12

Updated: 2024-11-21

Summary

Windows Installer Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Part	Description	Count
OS	Microsoft Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Microsoft Windows Server 2008 - Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Microsoft Windows Server 2012 - Microsoft Windows 10 1607 Microsoft Windows 10 - Microsoft Windows 10 1803 Microsoft Windows 10 1809 Microsoft Windows 10 1909 Microsoft Windows 10 2004 Microsoft Windows 10 20H2 Microsoft Windows 8.1 - Microsoft Windows Server 2016 - Microsoft Windows Server 2016 1909 Microsoft Windows Server 2016 2004 Microsoft Windows Server 2016 20H2 Microsoft Windows 7 - Microsoft Windows RT 8.1 - Microsoft Windows Server 2019 -	19

Leveraging Race Conditions
This attack targets a race condition occurring when multiple processes access and manipulate the same resource concurrently and the outcome of the execution depends on the particular order in which the access takes place. The attacker can leverage a race condition by "running the race", modifying the resource and modifying the normal execution flow. For instance a race condition can occur while accessing a file, the attacker can trick the system by replacing the original file with his version and cause the system to read the malicious file.
Leveraging Time-of-Check and Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) Race Conditions
This attack targets a race condition occurring between the time of check (state) for a resource and the time of use of a resource. The typical example is the file access. The attacker can leverage a file access race condition by "running the race", meaning that he would modify the resource between the first time the target program accesses the file and the time the target program uses the file. During that period of time, the attacker could do something such as replace the file and cause an escalation of privilege.