CVE-2021-1650
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedWindows Runtime C++ Template Library Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceThis is an elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Windows Runtime C++ Template Library (WRL), a Microsoft library used for WinRT/COM component development. The vulnerability allows a local attacker to elevate from low-privileged user context to higher system privileges. The CVSS 7.8 score suggests local access is required for exploitation.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE dataall versions= 20h2= 1607= 1803= 1809= 1909= 2004all versionsall versionsall versions= r2all versions= 20h2= 1909= 2004all versionsCVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Windows versionRun 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to determine the exact Windows edition and version numberAffected if The version matches any of these: Windows 10 (all versions including 20h2, 1607, 1803, 1809, 1909, 2004), Windows 8.1 (all), Windows RT 8.1, Windows Server 2012 (all, R2), Windows Server 2016 (all, 20h2, 1909, 2004), Windows Server 2019 (all)
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Check if vulnerability is patchedRun 'Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixID -eq "KB4598481" -or $_.HotFixID -eq "KB4598223" -or $_.HotFixID -eq "KB4598230"}' in PowerShell, or open Control Panel > Programs > View installed updates to search for the January 2021 security updatesAffected if The relevant KB is NOT installed (the system is missing the CVE-2021-1650 patch). If no matching KB is found, the system is likely vulnerable.
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Verify WRL component presenceSearch for WindowsRuntimeC++TemplateLibrary.dll in %SystemRoot%\System32 using 'Get-ChildItem -Path $env:SystemRoot\System32 -Filter "*WindowsRuntimeC++TemplateLibrary*" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue'Affected if The DLL exists on the system (which it does by default on affected Windows versions), and steps 1-2 indicate an unpatched affected version.
A system is affected if it runs any of the listed Windows versions AND lacks the January 2021 security update (KB4598481, KB4598223, or KB4598230).
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply the relevant Windows security update (KB) for CVE-2021-1650 through standard Windows Update or manual patch deployment. This is a Windows OS-level vulnerability requiring Microsoft-supplied patches.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,664.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-1650 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-1650 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data