CVE-2021-44205 : What You Need to Know

Local privilege escalation due to DLL hijacking vulnerability affecting Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office and Acronis True Image 2021.

Understanding CVE-2021-44205

What is CVE-2021-44205?

CVE-2021-44205 is a DLL hijacking vulnerability leading to local privilege escalation. The vulnerability affects Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office and Acronis True Image 2021 on Windows systems.

The Impact of CVE-2021-44205

This vulnerability allows an attacker to escalate their privileges and potentially execute arbitrary code on the targeted system, posing a significant security risk.

Technical Details of CVE-2021-44205

Vulnerability Description

The vulnerability arises from DLL hijacking, enabling attackers to load and execute malicious code to elevate privileges on the affected system.

Affected Systems and Versions

Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office (Windows) before build 39612
Acronis True Image 2021 (Windows) before build 39287

Exploitation Mechanism

The exploit involves manipulating DLL loading by placing a malicious DLL in a location where the application searches for DLLs, leading to privilege escalation.

Mitigation and Prevention

Immediate Steps to Take

Update Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office and Acronis True Image 2021 to versions 39612 and 39287, respectively.
Monitor system activity for any signs of unauthorized privilege elevation.

Long-Term Security Practices

Implement the principle of least privilege to restrict user access.
Regularly review and update security configurations and patches.

Patching and Updates

Apply security patches and updates provided by Acronis to mitigate the DLL hijacking vulnerability.