CVE-2021-33141
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 input validation in some Intel(R) Ethernet Adapters and Intel(R) Ethernet Controller I225 Manageability firmware may allow an unauthenticated user to potentially enable denial of service via network 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 · moderate confidenceImproper input validation in Intel Ethernet Adapters and Intel Ethernet Controller I225 Manageability firmware allows unauthenticated remote attackers to cause denial of service via specially crafted network packets. The vulnerability stems from insufficient validation of input data processed by the manageability firmware component.
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< 1.87< 1.87< 1.87< 29.0.1CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/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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Identify Intel I225 hardware in the systemCheck system hardware inventory or use 'lspci' command to list network controllers and look for 'Ethernet Controller I225' entriesAffected if No Intel I225 adapter is found, this CVE does not apply to the system
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Check I225 firmware versionAccess the manageability firmware interface (e.g., Intel AMT, Intel ME or vendor-specific management tool) to read the firmware version. For It, Lm, and V variants, verify the version numberAffected if Firmware version is below 1.87 for any I225 variant (It, Lm, or V)
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Verify manageability firmware is enabledCheck the manageability settings in BIOS/UEFI or through the Intel management engine interface. Look for settings related to 'Manageability', 'AMT', or 'ME' that control the manageability firmware componentAffected if Manageability features are enabled and the I225 firmware version is below 1.87 - this is the vulnerable configuration
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Check Intel Ethernet Adapter driver version (if applicable)Use 'ethtool -i <interface>' or check driver details through the operating system's network adapter properties to identify the driver versionAffected if Using Intel Ethernet Adapter Complete Driver version below 29.0.1 with an affected I225 controller
The system is affected if it has an Intel Ethernet Controller I225 with firmware version below 1.87 AND the manageability firmware component is enabled/active.
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 · scoped1.8729.0.1
Apply Intel firmware updates for affected Ethernet adapters and I225 controllers. If updates are unavailable, consider network segmentation to limit exposure and disabling manageability features if not required.
Firmware: 1.87 or later | Driver: 29.0.1 or later
- Identify the specific Intel Ethernet Controller I225 variant (IT, LM, or V) in your environment
- Download the Intel Ethernet Controller I225 firmware version 1.87 or later from Intel's support site
- Download the Intel Ethernet Adapter Complete Driver version 29.0.1 or later from Intel's support site
- Apply the firmware update to the affected Ethernet Controller I225 devices following Intel's firmware update instructions
- Install the updated Ethernet Adapter Complete Driver (version 29.0.1 or later) on affected systems
- Verify the firmware and driver versions have been successfully updated
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-33141 — 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-2021-33141 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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