CVE-2026-54121: Active Directory Certificate Services Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
Reference page built from the source records below, each shown as its source publishes it. Dataset version ref-9a126bc4fee3, updated 2026-11-01T17:35:54.926Z.
NVD analysis
- Status
- Analyzed
- Published
- 2026-07-14T18:18:08.057
- Last modified
- 2026-07-21T19:54:33.623
- Weaknesses
- CWE-285
Improper authorization in Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS) allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges over a network.
| Metric | Score | Severity | Vector | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | 8.8 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H | [email protected] (Secondary) |
References
- https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-54121 (Patch, Vendor Advisory)
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
Read on 2026-11-03T01:46:16.628Z under licence nvd-api-terms-of-use@ff2a5288 from https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?cveId=CVE-2026-54121
CVE record
- Title (CNA)
- Active Directory Certificate Services Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
- Assigner
- microsoft
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Published
- 2026-07-14T17:08:20.916Z
- Updated
- 2026-11-01T17:35:54.926Z
- Problem types
- CWE-285: Improper Authorization
References
Read on 2026-11-03T02:20:31.964Z under licence cve-terms-of-use@81bfa2f3 from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/main/cves/2026/54xxx/CVE-2026-54121.json
Detection rules (SigmaHQ)
SigmaHQ rules whose own tags name this CVE. Each rule page shows the rule as its author published it.
- Suspicious Machine Account Replication - DcSync Indicator (status test, level medium)
- ADCS - Certighost Certificate Issued via CDC Chase (CVE-2026-54121) (status experimental, level high)
- DC Machine Account TGT Request from Non-DC Source IP (status experimental, level high)
- DC Machine Account Network Logon from Non-DC Source IP (status experimental, level critical)
- ADCS - Certighost CDC Chase Certificate Request (CVE-2026-54121) (status experimental, level high)
- DC Machine Account TGS Request from Non-DC Source IP (status experimental, level high)
- ADCS - Certighost Ghost Machine Account Creation (status experimental, level high)
Defensive techniques (MITRE D3FEND)
D3FEND maps these defensive techniques to the weakness (CWE) that NVD lists for this CVE, through the digital artifacts the weakness affects. D3FEND does not say they stop this vulnerability.
CWE-285: Improper Authorization
- Model: Asset Vulnerability Enumeration (acts on Software)
- Harden: Software Update (acts on Software)
- Restore: Restore Software (acts on Software)
- Model: Software Inventory (acts on Software)
D3FEND ontology version 1.6.0.
Read on 2026-11-02T23:55:42.734Z under licence d3fend-terms-of-use@f98cbc7e from https://d3fend.mitre.org/api/weakness/cwe/CWE-285.json
MITRE D3FEND™ knowledge graph. © 2025 The MITRE Corporation.
"The MITRE Corporation (MITRE) hereby grants you a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use D3FEND for research, development, and commercial purposes. Any copy you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you reproduce MITRE's copyright designation and this license in any such copy." Terms: https://d3fend.mitre.org/tou/
Sources and licences
National Vulnerability Database (NIST)
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
NVD API Terms of Use (NIST publications in the public domain, 17 U.S.C. 105)
CVE Program, The MITRE Corporation
Copyright © 1999-2026, The MITRE Corporation. CVE is a trademark and the CVE logo is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation. CVE Usage: MITRE hereby grants you a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, no-charge, royalty-free, irrevocable copyright license to reproduce, prepare derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, sublicense, and distribute Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE™). Any copy you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you reproduce MITRE's copyright designation and this license in any such copy.
SigmaHQ
"Suspicious Machine Account Replication - DcSync Indicator" by Benjamin Delpy, Florian Roth (Nextron Systems), Scott Dermett, Sorina Ionescu (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules/windows/builtin/security/win_security_ad_replication_machine_account.yml.
Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-LicenseSigmaHQ
"ADCS - Certighost Certificate Issued via CDC Chase (CVE-2026-54121)" by Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules-emerging-threats/2026/Exploits/CVE-2026-54121/win_security_adcs_certighost_cert_issued_via_chase.yml.
Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-LicenseSigmaHQ
"DC Machine Account TGT Request from Non-DC Source IP" by Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules-placeholder/windows/builtin/security/win_security_dc_machine_accoutn_tgt_non_dc_ip.yml.
Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-LicenseSigmaHQ
"DC Machine Account Network Logon from Non-DC Source IP" by Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules-placeholder/windows/builtin/security/win_security_dc_machine_account_logon_non_dc_ip.yml.
Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-LicenseSigmaHQ
"ADCS - Certighost CDC Chase Certificate Request (CVE-2026-54121)" by Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules-emerging-threats/2026/Exploits/CVE-2026-54121/win_security_adcs_certighost_cdc_chase_request.yml.
Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-LicenseSigmaHQ
"DC Machine Account TGS Request from Non-DC Source IP" by Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules-placeholder/windows/builtin/security/win_security_dc_machine_account_tgs_non_dc_ip.yml.
Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-LicenseSigmaHQ
"ADCS - Certighost Ghost Machine Account Creation" by Swachchhanda Shrawan Poudel (Nextron Systems) (SigmaHQ). Rule: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84/rules-emerging-threats/2026/Exploits/CVE-2026-54121/win_security_adcs_certighost_ghost_machine_account_creation.yml.
Licensed under the Detection Rule License (DRL) 1.1: https://github.com/SigmaHQ/Detection-Rule-LicenseMITRE D3FEND
MITRE D3FEND™ knowledge graph. © 2025 The MITRE Corporation.
"The MITRE Corporation (MITRE) hereby grants you a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use D3FEND for research, development, and commercial purposes. Any copy you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you reproduce MITRE's copyright designation and this license in any such copy." Terms: https://d3fend.mitre.org/tou/MITRE D3FEND Terms of Use (site + knowledge graph); source repo MIT
Cite this page
Dragons Eye Ransomware Tracker, "CVE-2026-54121: Active Directory Certificate Services Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability",
entity page, dataset version ref-9a126bc4fee3, updated 2026-11-01T17:35:54.926Z,
https://ransomware-tracker.com/cve/CVE-2026-54121 (accessed 2026-11-03).
Underlying source: National Vulnerability Database (NIST), CVE API 2.0, record last modified 2026-07-21T19:54:33.623.
Underlying source: CVE List (CVE Program, The MITRE Corporation), record updated 2026-11-01T17:35:54.926Z.
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 611eab06-a145-4dfa-a295-3ccc5c20f59a, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 8b7e2c54-1f93-4a6d-b8e0-3c9d7f25a168, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule 9c5d2b84-1f7e-4a3c-d6b8-e04f9a17c523, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule b2e4a719-3c8f-4d1b-a507-f83c2d56e901, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule c4a1f389-2e6b-4d9a-8f0c-b73e5a12d947, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule e3f7c841-2a9d-4b5e-c018-d94b3e67f012, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.
Underlying source: SigmaHQ rule fa0bac5f-d170-4a91-9780-1ad71dc1f49e, commit ccbb0369507f796db0b0ae6854c8a2be471b9d84.
Underlying source: MITRE D3FEND, ontology version 1.6.0.
Pages change. The dataset version identifies the data, but no archive of old versions is kept, so this citation cannot be replayed later.