CVE-2021-0106
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 · uneditedIncorrect default permissions in the Intel(R) Optane(TM) DC Persistent Memory for Windows software versions before 2.00.00.3842 or 1.00.00.3515 may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable 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 Optane DC Persistent Memory software for Windows versions prior to 2.00.00.3842 or 1.00.00.3515 ships with incorrect default file system permissions, allowing an authenticated local user to modify executable files or configuration data that are subsequently run with elevated privileges, enabling local privilege escalation.
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< 2.00.00.3842< 1.00.00.3515CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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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Locate ipmctl installation directoryCheck common installation paths such as C:\Program Files\Intel\ipmctl or C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\ipmctl, or search for ipmctl.exe using 'where /r C:\ ipmctl.exe' in Command PromptAffected if The ipmctl executable is found on the system
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Identify installed ipmctl versionRun 'ipmctl version' from the installation directory or use PowerShell to get file version property of ipmctl.exe: (Get-Item 'C:\Program Files\Intel\ipmctl\ipmctl.exe').VersionInfo.FileVersionAffected if The version reported is less than 2.00.00.3842 or less than 1.00.00.3515 (note: version comparison should account for 1.x vs 2.x branch)
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Inspect file system permissions on installation directoryRight-click the ipmctl installation folder in File Explorer, select Properties, go to the Security tab, and examine the permissions for Users and Authenticated Users groupsAffected if Users or Authenticated Users group has Write or Modify permissions to directories containing executable files or configuration files
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Check for weak permissions on executable filesIn the Security tab of the installation folder, click Advanced, verify the Effective Permissions for Users group, or use 'icacls C:\Program Files\Intel\ipmctl\*' to list permissionsAffected if Non-admin users have permission to modify, replace, or delete .exe or .dll files in the ipmctl installation path
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Verify configuration file access for standard usersCheck permissions on config files (such as .xml, .json, .ini, or config directories within the installation folder) using icacls or the Security tabAffected if Standard users can write to or modify configuration files in the ipmctl installation directory
If ipmctl version is below 2.00.00.3842 or 1.00.00.3515 AND standard users have Write/Modify permissions to the installation directory or its executables/configs, 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 data1.00.00.35152.00.00.3842
Upgrade Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory software to version 2.00.00.3842 or 1.00.00.3515 or later. Alternatively, audit and manually restrict permissions on the software installation directory to follow least-privilege principles until patching is feasible.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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-2021-0106 — 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-2021-0106 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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