CVE-2021-33149
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 · uneditedObservable behavioral discrepancy in some Intel(R) Processors may allow an authorized user to potentially enable information disclosure 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 · moderate confidenceThis is a local information disclosure vulnerability in certain Intel processors stemming from an observable behavioral discrepancy. An authorized user with local access could potentially exploit this to gain access to sensitive information through the behavioral difference.
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 dataall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsCVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 the processor modelRun 'wmic cpu get name' on Windows or 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' on Linux to identify the Intel processor model. Check if it belongs to Intel Core, Pentium, Celeron, Xeon, Itanium, Atom, Xeon Phi, or Quark Soc product lines.Affected if The processor is any of these Intel processor families (all are listed as affected)
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Check the system firmware versionOn Windows, run 'wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion' or check the BIOS/UEFI version shown during boot. On Linux, check 'dmidecode -s bios-version' or look in /sys/class/dmi/id/.Affected if Any firmware version is present - the advisory lists all versions as affected
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Check for pending firmware updateOn systems with Intel Management Engine (ME), use the Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool or check if Intel CSME Version Detector shows a version. On servers, check via IPMI or BMC web interface for firmware update status.Affected if The firmware/microcode has not been updated to include the security fix (no specific fixed version was provided in the advisory)
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Verify local access security postureReview system access controls and audit logs to confirm whether untrusted local users have access. The vulnerability requires local access to exploit.Affected if Multiple users have local console or terminal access, especially untrusted or unauthorized users
A user is affected if they are running any Intel processor from the listed families and have not applied the microcode/firmware update, with untrusted local access possible.
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 dataApply Intel processor microcode and firmware updates as they become available, and follow Intel's published security guidance for affected processors.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 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 $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-33149 — 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-2021-33149 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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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data