dbcve.org
GeodriveApplication · Dell

CVE-2022-33920

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-10-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.2.3 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
Dell GeoDrive, versions prior to 2.2, contains an Unquoted File Path vulnerability. A low privilege attacker could potentially exploit this vulnerability, leading to the execution of arbitrary code in the SYSTEM security context.

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

Dell GeoDrive versions prior to 2.2 contain an unquoted service file path vulnerability. This allows a low-privilege attacker to place a malicious executable in an intermediate directory along the unquoted path, which gets executed when the service starts. Since the service runs in SYSTEM security context, the attacker gains elevated code execution privileges.

MitigationUpgrade Dell GeoDrive to version 2.2 or later to obtain the patched binary with properly quoted service paths.

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
GeodriveApplication
Affected:< 2.2.3

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 Dell GeoDrive service exists
    Open Services console (services.msc) or run 'sc queryall' and look for a service related to Dell GeoDrive, Dell GeoDrive, or similar naming
    Affected if No Dell GeoDrive service is found - the system is not affected because the vulnerable software is not installed
  2. Identify the service executable path
    Run 'sc qc <service_name>' to query the service configuration and retrieve the BINPATH (executable path)
    Affected if The BINPATH contains spaces and is not enclosed in quotes - the path is unquoted and vulnerable
  3. Verify service runs as SYSTEM
    Run 'sc qc <service_name>' and check the SERVICE_START_NAME, or run 'sc queryex <service_name>' to see the process token
    Affected if The service starts as LocalSystem, NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM, or similar elevated account - attacker could gain SYSTEM privileges
  4. Check intermediate directories in the path
    Examine each directory in the unquoted service path (e.g., C:\Program Files\Dell\GeoDrive\bin\service.exe would check C:\Program Files\, C:\Program Files\Dell\, C:\Program Files\Dell\GeoDrive\)
    Affected if A low-privilege user can write to any directory in the path - attacker could place malicious executable there
  5. Verify installed version
    Check the installed Dell GeoDrive version through Add/Remove Programs, the program's About/Help dialog, or by locating the executable and viewing its properties
    Affected if The version is below 2.2.3 - the installed version is within the affected range

A user is affected if Dell GeoDrive is installed with a service that has an unquoted executable path containing spaces and runs with SYSTEM privileges, allowing a low-privilege attacker to escalate by placing a malicious executable in an intermediate directory.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2.2.3 or later
Fixed in 2.2.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Dell GeoDrive to version 2.2 or later to obtain the patched binary with properly quoted service paths.

Recommended fix High confidence

2.2.3 or later

  1. Identify the current Dell GeoDrive version installed on the system
  2. Navigate to the Dell support website at www.dell.com and search for GeoDrive
  3. Locate the Dell GeoDrive download page and download version 2.2.3 or later
  4. Run the installer with administrative privileges
  5. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the upgrade
  6. Verify the installed version is 2.2.3 or higher after installation completes
  7. Restart any services or systems running GeoDrive to ensure the patched version is active

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Geodrive Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,090
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,744.

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-2022-33920 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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