CVE-2021-28686
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 · uneditedAsIO2_64.sys and AsIO2_32.sys in ASUS GPUTweak II before 2.3.0.3 allow low-privileged users to trigger a stack-based buffer overflow. This could enable low-privileged users to achieve Denial of Service via a DeviceIoControl.
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 confidenceASUS GPUTweak II ships with kernel drivers (AsIO2_64.sys and AsIO2_32.sys) that expose a DeviceIoControl interface vulnerable to stack-based buffer overflow. Low-privileged local users can trigger this overflow via specially crafted IOCTL requests, causing a Denial of Service condition.
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< 2.3.0.3CVSS 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:3.1/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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Check if ASUS GPUTweak II is installedLook for the installation directory at C:\Program Files\ASUS\GPU Tweak II or C:\Program Files (x86)\ASUS\GPU Tweak II, or check Programs and Features in Control Panel for 'ASUS GPU Tweak II'Affected if The software is present on the system
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Find the installed version of GPUTweak IICheck the version of gtweak.exe in the installation folder by right-clicking the file, selecting Properties, and viewing the Details tab, or right-click the GPUTweak II entry in Programs and FeaturesAffected if Version is lower than 2.3.0.3 (e.g., 2.3.0.0, 2.2.0.x, etc.)
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Check for presence of vulnerable kernel driversNavigate to C:\Windows\System32\Drivers and look for AsIO2_64.sys and AsIO2_32.sys files, or check the GPUTweak II installation folder for these driver filesAffected if One or both driver files (AsIO2_64.sys or AsIO2_32.sys) exist on the system
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Verify driver version is vulnerableRight-click each driver file (AsIO2_64.sys and AsIO2_32.sys), select Properties, go to the Details tab, and check the File Version fieldAffected if Driver file version is below 2.3.0.3 or the version cannot be determined (older driver)
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Confirm driver is loaded (active exposure)Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run 'sc query AsIO2' to check if the ASUS GPUTweak II driver service is running, or check Device Manager for hidden devicesAffected if The AsIO2 driver service exists and is in a running or stopped state on the system
A user is affected if ASUS GPUTweak II is installed with version lower than 2.3.0.3 and the AsIO2 driver files are present on the system.
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 data2.3.0.3
Upgrade ASUS GPUTweak II to version 2.3.0.3 or later to obtain the patched drivers that properly validate buffer sizes before copying data.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-28686 — 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-2021-28686 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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