CVE-2021-44900
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 · uneditedMicro-Star International (MSI) App Player <= 4.280.1.6309 is vulnerable to multiple Privilege Escalation (LPE/EoP) vulnerabilities in the NTIOLib_X64.sys and BstkDrv_msi2.sys drivers components. All the vulnerabilities are triggered by sending specific IOCTL requests.
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 confidenceMSI App Player versions 4.280.1.6309 and below contain multiple privilege escalation vulnerabilities in the NTIOLib_X64.sys and BstkDrv_msi2.sys kernel-mode drivers. The vulnerabilities are triggered by sending specific IOCTL (I/O Control) requests to these drivers, which operate with high system privileges, allowing unprivileged local users to escalate to SYSTEM-level access.
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<= 4.280.1.6309CVSS 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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Check if MSI App Player is installedLook for MSI App Player in the list of installed programs (Control Panel > Programs and Features, or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object DisplayName' in PowerShell)Affected if MSI App Player appears in the installed programs list
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Determine the installed version of MSI App PlayerCheck the version of the installed MSI App Player. Common locations include the program's installation directory (typically under C:\Program Files\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\), or right-click the executable and select Properties > Details. Compare your version to 4.280.1.6309Affected if The installed version is 4.280.1.6309 or lower
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Check for presence of vulnerable driversSearch for the files NTIOLib_X64.sys and BstkDrv_msi2.sys on the system. Use PowerShell: Get-ChildItem -Path C:\ -Recurse -Filter "NTIOLib_X64.sys" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object FullName. Repeat for BstkDrv_msi2.sysAffected if Either NTIOLib_X64.sys or BstkDrv_msi2.sys is found on the system
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Verify if vulnerable drivers are loadedCheck if the drivers are currently running in memory. Open an elevated command prompt and run: sc query type= driver (look for entries containing NTIOLib or BstkDrv), or use PowerShell: Get-Process with driver-related modules if availableAffected if The NTIOLib_X64.sys or BstkDrv_msi2.sys drivers are currently loaded and running
A system is affected if MSI App Player version 4.280.1.6309 or lower is installed AND the vulnerable drivers (NTIOLib_X64.sys or BstkDrv_msi2.sys) 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 dataUpdate MSI App Player to a patched version if available. If no patch is available, uninstall the application or remove/disable the vulnerable drivers (NTIOLib_X64.sys and BstkDrv_msi2.sys) as an immediate mitigation to prevent local privilege escalation attacks.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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-2021-44900 — 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-2021-44900 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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