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Dragon CenterApplication · Msi

CVE-2021-44901

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-02-04
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.0.116.0 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

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 · unedited
Micro-Star International (MSI) Dragon Center <= 2.0.116.0 is vulnerable to multiple Privilege Escalation (LPE/EoP) vulnerabilities in the atidgllk.sys, atillk64.sys, MODAPI.sys, NTIOLib.sys, NTIOLib_X64.sys, WinRing0.sys, WinRing0x64.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 · high confidence

MSI Dragon Center versions 2.0.116.0 and earlier contain multiple kernel-mode driver vulnerabilities (atidgllk.sys, atillk64.sys, MODAPI.sys, NTIOLib.sys, NTIOLib_X64.sys, WinRing0.sys, WinRing0x64.sys) that allow local privilege escalation via specially crafted IOCTL requests. These drivers expose privileged operations to user-mode processes without proper authorization checks.

MitigationUpdate MSI Dragon Center to a version newer than 2.0.116.0, or uninstall the application if updates are unavailable. Remove or block loading of the vulnerable kernel drivers.

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
Dragon CenterApplication
Affected:<= 2.0.116.0

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check if MSI Dragon Center is installed
    Open Programs and Features (appwiz.cpl) or check registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for an entry named 'MSI Dragon Center' or similar. Also check for the executable in typical program directories.
    Affected if MSI Dragon Center is present on the system and version is 2.0.116.0 or earlier, or version cannot be determined (older installs may not list version).
  2. Verify the installed MSI Dragon Center version
    Right-click the MSI Dragon Center application in Programs and Features, select Properties, and check the Version field. Alternatively, locate the main executable (commonly named Dragon Center.exe or similar in the installation folder) and view its File Properties for version information.
    Affected if The displayed version is 2.0.116.0 or any version lower than that, or no version information is available (older installs may lack version metadata).
  3. Search for vulnerable kernel drivers on disk
    Use File Explorer or command line (dir /s C:\*.sys) to search for these specific driver files: atidgllk.sys, atillk64.sys, MODAPI.sys, NTIOLib.sys, NTIOLib_X64.sys, WinRing0.sys, WinRing0x64.sys. Check common locations such as C:\Program Files\MSI, C:\Windows\System32\drivers, or the application installation directory.
    Affected if Any of these seven driver files are found on the system.
  4. Check if vulnerable drivers are currently loaded
    Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run 'driverquery /v' or 'sc query' to list loaded drivers. Search the output for any of the vulnerable driver names: atidgllk, atillk64, MODAPI, NTIOLib, WinRing0.
    Affected if Any of these drivers appear in the loaded driver list with a Running state.

A user is affected if MSI Dragon Center version 2.0.116.0 or earlier is installed, or if any of the seven vulnerable kernel drivers (atidgllk.sys, atillk64.sys, MODAPI.sys, NTIOLib.sys, NTIOLib_X64.sys, WinRing0.sys, WinRing0x64.sys) are present on the system.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2.0.116.0
Interim mitigation

Update MSI Dragon Center to a version newer than 2.0.116.0, or uninstall the application if updates are unavailable. Remove or block loading of the vulnerable kernel drivers.

Fix this in Dragon Center Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-44901 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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