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Active Directory

PRODUCT

· dossier confidence 20%

Active Directory is Microsoft's core identity management platform, but its track record includes multiple critical privilege escalation vulnerabilities that were actively exploited by ransomware groups, posing severe risks to enterprise networks.

Failure events
3
Zero-days
0
RCEs
1
On KEV
3
Critical
2
Worst shame
72
PROFILE
CategoryOperating System / Directory ServiceWhat they doActive Directory is a directory service developed by Microsoft for Windows domain networks, providing centralized management of users, groups, and devices. Websitehttps://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/active-directory ↗
SECURITY POSTURE

Microsoft's Active Directory has a history of critical privilege escalation vulnerabilities that were actively exploited by ransomware groups, indicating a pattern of severe security gaps in core identity management.

Notable failures
  • CVE-2022-26923: Authenticated RCE to SYSTEM
  • CVE-2021-42278: Critical privilege escalation exploited by ransomware
  • CVE-2021-42287: Critical privilege escalation exploited by ransomware
Patterns: Repeated critical privilege escalation vulnerabilities in core identity services; Active exploitation of AD vulnerabilities by ransomware actors
FAILURE HISTORY · 3
DATEEVENTSEVSUMMARY
2022-08-18 CVE-2022-26923 high Authenticated users could exploit a Microsoft Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) vulnerability for privilege escalation to SYSTEM.
2022-04-11 CVE-2021-42278 critical A Microsoft Active Directory vulnerability allowed privilege escalation, actively exploited and linked to ransomware attacks.
2022-04-11 CVE-2021-42287 critical A Microsoft Active Directory vulnerability allowed privilege escalation, actively exploited and linked to ransomware attacks.
DOSSIER SOURCES
Open questions: Current patching cadence for AD DS post-2022 · Specific mitigation strategies recommended by Microsoft for AD DS RCE vulnerabilities
DOSSIER · dex-RAG synthesis · grounded in our own collection + trusted sourcesbuilt 2026-09-02 04:25:02.828129+00:00