CVE-2021-0090
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 · uneditedUncontrolled search path element in Intel(R) DSA before version 20.11.50.9 may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable an escalation of privilege 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 · high confidenceIntel(R) Data Stream Accelerator (DSA) before version 20.11.50.9 contains an uncontrolled search path element vulnerability where the application may load executables or libraries from an attacker-controlled location. An authenticated local user can exploit this to achieve privilege escalation by placing a malicious executable in the search path, causing the vulnerable software to execute it with elevated privileges.
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< 20.11.50.9CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/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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Identify if Intel Driver & Support Assistant is installedOpen Programs and Features (Windows) or check /Applications (macOS) for Intel Driver & Support Assistant, or use command line: reg query 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall' /s | findstr -i 'Intel.*Driver.*Support.*Assistant'Affected if The application is not found in the system, the user is not affected. If found, proceed to version check.
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Determine the installed version of Intel DSACheck the version of the Intel Driver & Support Assistant installation, typically found in Add/Remove Programs, the application's About/Help section, or by locating the DSA driver files (dsaview.exe or similar Intel DSA utilities) and reviewing their file propertiesAffected if The version is less than 20.11.50.9, the user is likely affected by this vulnerability.
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Verify the installation directory locationLocate where Intel Driver & Support Assistant is installed (commonly in Program Files\Intel or C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel). Check if this path is on a drive or in a folder that non-privileged users can modifyAffected if The application is installed in a user-writable directory or a directory with weak permissions, the vulnerability could be exploited.
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Review directory permissions on the installation folderRight-click the installation directory, go to Properties > Security, and verify that standard users cannot write to subfolders. On command line: icacls 'C:\Program Files\Intel' or icacls 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel'Affected if Non-privileged users have Write or Modify permissions to the installation directory or its contents, an attacker could place a malicious executable in the search path.
The user is affected if Intel Driver & Support Assistant is installed with a version prior to 20.11.50.9 AND the installation directory or its parent paths allow non-privileged users to write files.
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 data20.11.50.9
Upgrade Intel(R) DSA to version 20.11.50.9 or later. As a temporary mitigation, ensure the application runs from trusted directories only and that directory permissions prevent unprivileged users from modifying paths in the search order.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-0090 — 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-2021-0090 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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