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Ax210 FirmwareOperating system · Intel

CVE-2021-0069

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-11-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 22.40 or later.
See remediation →
70/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges 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 input validation in firmware for some Intel(R) PROSet/Wireless WiFi in multiple operating systems and some Killer(TM) WiFi in Windows 10 may allow an unauthenticated user to potentially enable denial of service 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 input validation in Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi and Killer WiFi firmware allows an unauthenticated attacker within wireless range to potentially cause denial of service by sending specially crafted WiFi frames that the firmware processes without proper validation.

MitigationUpdate WiFi adapter firmware to vendor-provided patches; apply vendor-released firmware updates for affected Intel PROSet/Wireless and Killer WiFi products.

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
9260 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Ac 9260 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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/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 checks

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

  1. Identify the installed Intel WiFi adapter model
    Open Device Manager on Windows, expand 'Network adapters', and look for Intel PROSet/Wireless or Killer WiFi adapter (e.g., Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX210, Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201, etc.) or run 'netsh wlan show interfaces' to list wireless adapter details
    Affected if The adapter model matches one of the affected products: Ax210, Ax201, Ax200, Ac9560, Ac9462, Ac9461, 9260, or Ac9260
  2. Retrieve the current firmware version of the WiFi adapter
    Use Intel PROSet Wireless tools (open Intel PROSet Wireless Software, go to Adapter Properties, view Firmware version) or run 'netsh wlan show drivers' and check driver/firmware details; on Linux, use 'iw list' or check /sys/class/net/*/device/firmware_version
    Affected if The firmware version is visible and can be compared to the affected ranges
  3. Compare installed firmware version against affected ranges
    Reference the version retrieved in the previous step against: Ax210, Ax201, Ax200, Ac9560, Ac9462, Ac9461, Ac9260 all affected if < 22.40; Intel 9260 affected for all versions
    Affected if The installed firmware version is below 22.40 (for Ax210, Ax201, Ax200, Ac9560, Ac9462, Ac9461, Ac9260) or any version (for Intel 9260)
  4. Verify WiFi adapter is enabled and active
    Check that the wireless adapter is not disabled in BIOS/UEFI, and that WiFi is turned on in the operating system (check network status or use 'netsh wlan show interfaces' to confirm state is 'connected' or 'disconnected' but enabled)
    Affected if The WiFi adapter is powered on and capable of receiving wireless frames, which is required for the vulnerability to be exploitable

You are affected if your system uses any of the listed Intel WiFi adapters (Ax210, Ax201, Ax200, Ac9560, Ac9462, Ac9461, 9260, Ac9260) with firmware versions below 22.40 (or any version for 9260) and the wireless adapter is enabled.

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

Update WiFi adapter firmware to vendor-provided patches; apply vendor-released firmware updates for affected Intel PROSet/Wireless and Killer WiFi products.

Recommended fix High confidence

Firmware version 22.40 or later for the respective Intel WiFi adapter (Ax210, Ax201, Ax200, AC9560, AC9462, AC9461, 9260, AC9260)

  1. Identify the specific Intel WiFi adapter model in the system (e.g., Ax210, Ax201, Ax200, AC9560, AC9462, AC9461, 9260, or AC9260)
  2. Download the latest Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi driver and firmware package from the official Intel support website (www.intel.com)
  3. Ensure the system has adequate power (connected to AC power for laptops) to prevent interruption during the firmware update
  4. Run the Intel Driver & Support Assistant or manually install the updated wireless driver package, which includes the firmware update
  5. Restart the system after the firmware update completes to ensure the new firmware is properly loaded
  6. Verify the installed firmware version matches or exceeds 22.40 using Intel PROSet/Wireless tools or Device Manager

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
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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-2021-0069 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