CVE-2018-3670
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.
NVD · uneditedDriver module in Intel Smart Sound Technology before version 9.21.00.3541 potentially allows a local attacker to execute arbitrary code as administrator via a buffer overflow.
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.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceA buffer overflow vulnerability in the Intel Smart Sound Technology driver module (versions prior to 9.21.00.3541) allows a local authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code with administrator privileges by exploiting the overflow in the driver.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
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.
NVD · CPE data< 9.21.00.3541CVSS 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.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
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.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Intel Smart Sound Technology driver is installedOpen Command Prompt and run: wmic path win32_PnPSignedDriver get DeviceName,DriverVersion,InstallDate /format:list | findstr -i "Smart Sound"Affected if No output is returned or the driver is not listed, indicating the driver is not present and the system is not affected.
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Retrieve the driver version numberRun: wmic path win32_PnPSignedDriver where "DeviceName like '%Smart%Sound%'" get DriverVersionAffected if The command returns a version number lower than 9.21.00.3541, indicating the system is running a vulnerable version.
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Confirm driver package version via registryOpen Registry Editor and navigate to HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\IntelSST, then check the "Version" or "DriverVersion" value in the registryAffected if The registry shows a version string earlier than 9.21.00.3541, confirming the vulnerability is present.
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Check driver file versionLocate the IntelSST driver file (typically intelSST.sys in C:\Windows\System32\drivers\), right-click the file, select Properties, and view the File Version tabAffected if The file version shown is below 9.21.00.3541, indicating the installed driver is vulnerable.
A system is affected if the Intel Smart Sound Technology driver is installed with any version number lower than 9.21.00.3541.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor data9.21.00.3541
Update Intel Smart Sound Technology driver to version 9.21.00.3541 or later through Intel's support website or automatic update mechanisms.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-3670 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-3670 in production — separate from our analysis above.
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
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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