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Ax210 FirmwareOperating system · Intel

CVE-2021-0053

MEDIUM · 5.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-11-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 22.40 or later.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

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 · unedited
Improper initialization in firmware for some Intel(R) PROSet/Wireless WiFi and Killer(TM) WiFi in Windows 10 may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable information disclosure via adjacent 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 · high confidence

Improper initialization in Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi and Killer WiFi firmware for Windows 10 allows an authenticated user to potentially disclose information via adjacent network access. The vulnerability stems from uninitialized variables or memory in the wireless adapter firmware that could expose sensitive data during WiFi communications.

MitigationApply the Intel or Killer firmware update provided for this vulnerability. Enterprise deployments should patch affected systems via their device management infrastructure and verify the firmware version post-update.

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
Ax210 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 22.40
Ax201 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 22.40
Ax200 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 22.40
Ac 9560 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 22.40
Ac 9462 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 22.40
Ac 9461 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 22.40
Ac 9260 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 22.40
Ac 8265 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 22.40

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.

From the vector
Attack vector
Adjacent
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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 checks

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

  1. Identify the installed wireless adapter model
    Open Device Manager, expand 'Network adapters', and look for Intel wireless adapters (Ax210, Ax201, Ax200, AC9560, AC9462, AC9461, AC9260, AC8265). Alternatively, run 'netsh wlan show drivers' in Command Prompt to list wireless drivers.
    Affected if The adapter model matches one of the following: Intel Ax210, Ax201, Ax200, AC9560, AC9462, AC9461, AC9260, or AC8265.
  2. Check the installed firmware version
    In Device Manager, right-click the Intel wireless adapter, select 'Properties', go to the 'Details' tab, and select 'Firmware version' from the Property dropdown. Alternatively, use 'netsh wlan show interface' to view adapter details including firmware information.
    Affected if The displayed firmware version is less than 22.40 (for example, 22.30, 21.10, etc.).
  3. Verify WiFi is enabled and in use
    Confirm the wireless adapter is active by checking if WiFi is turned on in Windows Settings or via 'netsh wlan show interface' showing 'State: connected' or 'State: disconnected' (either state indicates the firmware is loaded and potentially vulnerable).
    Affected if The wireless adapter is present and its firmware is loaded, regardless of connection status.

If the system uses any of the affected Intel wireless adapters (Ax210, Ax201, Ax200, AC9560, AC9462, AC9461, AC9260, AC8265) with firmware version less than 22.40, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2021-0053.

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

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 22.40 or later
Fixed in 22.40
Interim mitigation

Apply the Intel or Killer firmware update provided for this vulnerability. Enterprise deployments should patch affected systems via their device management infrastructure and verify the firmware version post-update.

Recommended fix High confidence

Firmware version 22.40 or later for affected Intel WiFi adapters (Ax210, Ax201, Ax200, Ac9560, Ac9462, Ac9461, Ac9260, Ac8265)

  1. Identify the specific Intel WiFi adapter model in the system using Device Manager or Intel PROSet/Wireless tools
  2. Navigate to Intel's support website and download the latest WiFi firmware update (version 22.40 or later) for the specific adapter model
  3. Apply the firmware update using Intel's firmware update utility or through the PROSet/Wireless software interface
  4. Restart the system after the firmware update completes
  5. Verify the installed firmware version is 22.40 or later using Device Manager or Intel PROSet/Wireless tools

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

Fix this in Ax210 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

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Scan for this in your stack

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

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-0053 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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