CVE-2018-3705
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 · uneditedImproper directory permissions in the installer for the Intel(R) System Defense Utility (all versions) may allow authenticated users to potentially enable a denial of service via local access.
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 · moderate confidenceThe Intel System Defense Utility installer sets improper directory permissions, allowing authenticated local users to potentially cause a denial of service. The vulnerability stems from the installer not correctly securing directories it creates during installation, likely leaving them with overly permissive access controls.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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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Locate Intel System Defense Utility installationSearch the system for the Intel System Defense Utility installation directory, typically found under Program Files or Program Files (x86) with 'Intel' or 'System Defense' in the path. Use file explorer search or command: dir /s /b "C:\Program Files*" 2>nul | findstr /i "System Defense"Affected if The utility is found installed on the system
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Identify installation directories created by installerExamine the Intel System Defense Utility installation folder and any subdirectories it created. Note all folders present under the main installation directory.Affected if Installation directories exist on the system
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Inspect directory permissionsRight-click each installation directory, go to Properties > Security tab, and review the permissions. Or use command: icacls "<installation_path>" to view effective permissions for all users and groups.Affected if Directories grant excessive permissions such as 'Everyone', 'Users', or 'Authenticated Users' with Full Control, Modify, or Write access beyond what is required for operation
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Verify if authenticated local users can modify directoriesCheck if standard authenticated users (non-admin) can write, delete, or alter contents within the installation directories. Attempt to create, modify, or delete a test file using a standard user account, or review ACLs for write/modify rights granted to Users orAuthenticated Users groups.Affected if Authenticated local users have write or modify permissions to installation directories, allowing them to alter, delete, or add files
If Intel System Defense Utility is installed and its directories grant excessive permissions to standard authenticated users (beyond read/execute), the system is affected by this vulnerability.
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 dataReplace or re-run the installer with corrected directory permission settings, ensuring installed directories restrict access appropriately. For existing installations, verify and correct directory permissions to follow least-privilege principles.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-3705 — 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-2018-3705 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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