Privilege escalation in Intel Extreme Tuning Utility (XTU)

1) Untrusted search path

EUVDB-ID: #VU63541

Risk: Low

CVSSv3.1: 6.4 [CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2022-22139

CWE-ID: CWE-426 - Untrusted Search Path

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to escalate privileges on the system.

The vulnerability exists due to usage of an untrusted search path when loading libraries. A local user can place a malicious .dll file into a specific directory, trick another system user to launch software from that directory and execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges.

Mitigation

Install updates from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

Intel Extreme Tuning Utility (XTU): before 7.3.0.33

External links

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/security-center/advisory/intel-sa-00663.html

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. This vulnerability can be exploited locally. The attacker should have authentication credentials and successfully authenticate on the system.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.