What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-28721?

CVE-2026-28721 has a CVSS 3.0 base score of 7.3 (High). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.0%.

How to fix or mitigate CVE-2026-28721?

Within 24 hours: Identify all systems running Acronis Cyber Protect 17 (Windows) build 41186 or earlier and document exposure. Within 7 days: Implement network segmentation to restrict local access to Acronis services, disable unnecessary local account privileges, and enforce multi-factor authentication for administrative access. Within 30 days: Contact Acronis for patch availability status and timeline; evaluate alternative backup solutions if patch remains unavailable; implement enhanced endpoint monitoring for privilege escalation attempts.

Cyber Protect CVE-2026-28721

HIGH

Externally Controlled Reference to a Resource in Another Sphere (CWE-610)

2026-03-06 security@acronis.com

Windows Privilege Escalation Cyber Protect Acronis

7.3

CVSS 3.0 · NVD

View

Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

Access

Local user clicks malicious symlink
Exploit

Acronis Cyber Protect follows symlink to privileged file
Execution

Overwrite system file with attacker content
Impact

Execute code with SYSTEM privileges

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-610 OWASP Top 10:2025 A05:2025 - Injection ASVS 5.0 V4 - API and Web Service External resource reference control
Exploitation Conditions	Acronis Cyber Protect 17 (Windows) build before 41186. Requires local user account (PR:L) and user interaction (UI:R) to click symlink. Improper soft link handling in file operations enables privilege escalation.
Impact	CVSS 7.3 (HIGH). Attack vector: Local. Complexity: Low. Privileges required: Low. User interaction: Required. Exploitable via local access.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to compromise the affected system.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).

No patch listed yet 0.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.

Alert me

AnalysisAIv1 – Mar 12, 2026

Acronis Cyber Protect 17 for Windows before build 41186 allows local attackers with standard user privileges to escalate to system-level access through improper handling of symbolic links. An authenticated attacker can exploit this vulnerability to gain full control over the affected system, including the ability to read, modify, or delete sensitive data and execute arbitrary code. No patch is currently available for this vulnerability.

Earlier versions of this analysis (1)

v1 Mar 12, 2026 - 22:06 CVSS 7.3

Local privilege escalation due to improper soft link handling. The following products are affected: Acronis Cyber Protect 17 (Windows) before build 41186. [CVSS 7.3 HIGH]

RemediationAI

Monitor vendor advisories for a patch.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

Affects Cyber Protect. Local privilege escalation due to improper soft link handling. The following products are affected: Acronis Cyber Protect 17 (Windows) before build 41186.

Know when Cyber Protect gets its next vulnerability

Watch products and get an email when something new is published
Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

Continue with Google Continue with GitHub

No credit card · 7-day full trial

Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 7.3 HIGH

AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

Required

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

DescriptionCVE.org

Local privilege escalation due to improper soft link handling. The following products are affected: Acronis Cyber Protect 17 (Windows) before build 41186.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

A local privilege escalation vulnerability in Acronis Cyber Protect 17 (Windows) allows authenticated users to gain elevated system access through improper symbolic link handling. Organizations running affected versions face risk of unauthorized privilege escalation by internal or compromised local accounts, potentially enabling lateral movement, data exfiltration, and system compromise.

Business Impact: High

Compensating Controls

Apply principle of least privilege to user accounts; restrict local administrative access; monitor symlink creation and privilege escalation attempts via endpoint detection and response (EDR); disable Acronis services on systems where local privilege escalation risk is unacceptable; implement application whitelisting to prevent exploitation tools; segment backup infrastructure from production environments.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score

0.0%

Top 97% exploitable

Data Quality

3 sources

Confidence: Low

NVD

CVE.org

EPSS

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue

Severity HIGH

CISA KEV No

Public POC No

EPSS 0.0%

Patch available No

Active threat No

Deciding rule

HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)

What every action level means

Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.

Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived

Scheduled

Exploitation· derived

None

System Exposure· derived

Small

Automatable· derived

Human Impact

High

Priority Score

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: 0

EPSS: 0

CVSS: +36

PoC: 0

Weaponized: 0

Threat intel: 0

Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Privilege Escalation HIGH

Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.