CVE-2021-33118
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 · uneditedImproper access control in the software installer for the Intel(R) Serial IO driver for Intel(R) NUC 11 Gen before version 30.100.2104.1 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 confidenceImproper access control in the Intel Serial IO driver installer for NUC 11th Gen systems allows an authenticated local user to gain elevated privileges by exploiting insufficient restrictions in the installer functionality.
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< 30.100.2104.1CVSS 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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Identify if the system is an Intel NUC 11th GenCheck the system model information via systeminfo command or by looking at the system properties in Control Panel. The model designation typically contains 'NUC 11' or similar identifier.Affected if The system is an Intel NUC 11th Gen product (NUC11xxx)
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Locate the Intel Serial IO driver installationOpen Windows Device Manager and expand the 'System devices' category, or check Programs and Features in Control Panel for an entry named 'Intel Serial IO Driver' or similar.Affected if The Intel Serial IO driver is present on the system
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Retrieve the installed driver versionIn Device Manager, right-click on the Intel Serial IO driver entry, select Properties, then go to the Driver tab and note the Driver Version. Alternatively, check the version listed in Programs and Features.Affected if A version number is displayed for the Intel Serial IO driver
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Compare against the vulnerable version rangeCompare the installed version number to the affected range. The vulnerable versions are any versions before 30.100.2104.1.Affected if The installed Intel Serial IO driver version is lower than 30.100.2104.1 (for example, 30.100.xxxx with a lower build number, or any earlier version numbering scheme)
The system is affected if it is an Intel NUC 11th Gen with Intel Serial IO driver installed at a version lower than 30.100.2104.1.
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.
dbcve · scoped30.100.2104.1
Update Intel Serial IO driver for Intel NUC 11 Gen to version 30.100.2104.1 or later to remediate the access control vulnerability.
Intel Serial IO Driver for NUC 11 Gen version 30.100.2104.1 or later
- Identify the currently installed version of Intel(R) Serial IO driver on the Intel NUC 11 Gen system
- Navigate to Intel's official support website and download the Intel Serial IO driver version 30.100.2104.1 or later for Intel NUC 11 Gen
- Uninstall the current (vulnerable) version of the Serial IO driver from the system
- Install the downloaded fixed version (30.100.2104.1 or later) of the Intel Serial IO driver
- Restart the system if prompted by the installer
- Verify the installed driver version matches the fixed release
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-33118 — 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-2021-33118 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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