Aorus Graphics EngineApplication · Gigabyte

CVE-2018-19321

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2018-12-21

Fix available

A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.26 / 1.57 or later.

See remediation →

96/100

Remediation priority · Urgent

In the wild Ransomware Public exploit Zero-click

Official description

NVD · unedited

The GPCIDrv and GDrv low-level drivers in GIGABYTE APP Center v1.05.21 and earlier, AORUS GRAPHICS ENGINE before 1.57, XTREME GAMING ENGINE before 1.26, and OC GURU II v2.08 expose functionality to read and write arbitrary physical memory. This could be leveraged by a local attacker to elevate privileges.

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · high confidence

The GPCIDrv and GDrv low-level drivers in multiple GIGABYTE graphics utilities (APP Center, AORUS GRAPHICS ENGINE, XTREME GAMING ENGINE, OC GURU II) expose kernel-mode functionality allowing reading and writing of arbitrary physical memory. This arbitrary memory access from a privileged driver context can be exploited by a local attacker to achieve privilege escalation to SYSTEM level.

MitigationUpdate affected GIGABYTE software to versions: APP Center v1.05.22 or later, AORUS GRAPHICS ENGINE 1.57 or later, XTREME GAMING ENGINE 1.26 or later, OC GURU II v2.09 or later. Deploy via enterprise patch management or manual update on affected endpoints.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions

NVD · CPE data

Aorus Graphics EngineApplication

Affected:< 1.57

App CenterApplication

Affected:< 19.0422.1

Oc Guru IiApplication

Affected:= 2.08

Xtreme Gaming EngineApplication

Affected:< 1.26

CVSS breakdown

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?

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

Identify installed Gigabyte graphics utilities

Check Program Files for Gigabyte folders such as 'AORUS GRAPHICS ENGINE', 'GIGABYTE App Center', 'OC GURU II', or 'XTREME GAMING ENGINE'. Use PowerShell: Get-ChildItem 'C:\Program Files\' -Recurse -Directory | Where-Object {$_.Name -match 'Gigabyte|Aorus|OC Guru|Xtreme'}

Affected if Any of these four Gigabyte applications are present on the system
Check Aorus Graphics Engine version

Locate the installation folder (commonly C:\Program Files\AORUS\GRAPHICS ENGINE\ or similar). Right-click the executable, select Properties, and view the File Version. Alternatively, check registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Gigabyte\AorusGraphicsEngine for Version value.

Affected if Version is lower than 1.57
Check Gigabyte App Center version

Locate the APP Center installation folder. Check the File Version of the main executable or check registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Gigabyte\APP Center for the Version entry.

Affected if Version is lower than 19.0422.1
Check OC GURU II version

Locate the OC GURU II installation folder. Check the File Version of the executable or check registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Gigabyte\OcGuru for the Version entry.

Affected if Version equals 2.08 exactly
Check Xtreme Gaming Engine version

Locate the XTREME GAMING ENGINE folder. Check the File Version of the main executable or check registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Gigabyte\XtremeGamingEngine for Version.

Affected if Version is lower than 1.26
Verify vulnerable drivers are present

Search for driver files GPCIDrv.sys and GDrv.sys in the Gigabyte software installation directories or system driver folders (C:\Windows\System32\drivers\). Use PowerShell: Get-ChildItem 'C:\' -Recurse -Filter 'GPCIDrv.sys' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

Affected if Either GPCIDrv.sys or GDrv.sys driver file exists on the system

The system is affected if any of the four Gigabyte utilities are installed with a version matching the affected ranges AND the vulnerable kernel drivers (GPCIDrv.sys or GDrv.sys) are present.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Remediation

dbcve · scoped

Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.26 / 1.57 / 19.0422.1 or later

Fixed in 1.261.5719.0422.1

Interim mitigation

Update affected GIGABYTE software to versions: APP Center v1.05.22 or later, AORUS GRAPHICS ENGINE 1.57 or later, XTREME GAMING ENGINE 1.26 or later, OC GURU II v2.09 or later. Deploy via enterprise patch management or manual update on affected endpoints.

Recommended fix High confidence

AORUS GRAPHICS ENGINE 1.57+, App Center 19.0422.1+, XTREME GAMING ENGINE 1.26+ (OC GURU II: version after 2.08)

1. Identify which GIGABYTE utility software is installed from: AORUS GRAPHICS ENGINE, App Center, XTREME GAMING ENGINE, or OC GURU II
2. Uninstall the current version of the affected software
3. Download the latest version from the official GIGABYTE support website (www.gigabyte.com)
4. Install the updated version with elevated (administrator) privileges
5. Restart the system to ensure driver components are properly loaded
6. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds the fixed release: AORUS GRAPHICS ENGINE >= 1.57, App Center >= 19.0422.1, XTREME GAMING ENGINE >= 1.26

Caveat Low-risk upgrade; ensure compatibility with Windows version and other installed GIGABYTE utilities

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Aorus Graphics Engine Exploited in the wild — priority engagement

Consultation2.0 h
Implementation2.0 h
Testing2.0 h
Review / QA1.0 h

7.0 hours of engineering $1,240

Get it fixed fast

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Scan for this in your stack

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References

Primary sources

seclists.orgProof of Concept
www.gigabyte.comVendor Advisory
seclists.orgExploitMailing ListThird Party Advisory
www.securityfocus.comBroken LinkThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
www.secureauth.comBroken LinkExploitThird Party Advisory
www.cisa.govUS Government Resource
nvd.nist.govNVD record

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-19321 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2018-19321?

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

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

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.

What belongs here

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

At a glance

Exploited in the wildOn CISA’s known-exploited list · agencies must fix by 2022-11-14

A fix existsUpgrade to 1.26 / 1.57 or later

Severity 7.8 High

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 3.7%

Affects: Aorus Graphics Engine

Remediation

Being exploited — close it fast

Fix this in Aorus Graphics Engine 7 hrs · Low

Typical engagement from $1,240

Get it fixed fast See the full breakdown ↓

This CVE is on CISA’s actively-exploited list, so the clock is real — a vetted specialist can deliver a reviewed fix for your staging environment quickly.

You’ll deal with our team directly and deploy the reviewed fix to staging first — never straight to production.

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.

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.

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.

CVSS 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.

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.

Check your environment

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.

Scan for this in your stack

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

Affected products & versions

CVSS breakdown

Am I affected?

Remediation

References