CVE-2022-36398
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 · uneditedUncontrolled search path in the Intel(R) Battery Life Diagnostic Tool software before version 2.2.0 may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privilege 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 · high confidenceThe Intel Battery Life Diagnostic Tool before version 2.2.0 contains an uncontrolled search path vulnerability (likely DLL hijacking or similar library loading issue). An authenticated local user can place malicious files in a location the software searches, causing arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges when the tool is launched.
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= 2.2.0CVSS 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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Find installed Intel Battery Life Diagnostic Tool versionCheck the application's version information. Common locations: 1) Right-click the executable > Properties > Details tab, 2) Check Add/Remove Programs or Programs and Features in Control Panel for the installed version, 3) Check the installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\Intel\Battery Life Diagnostic Tool\) for versioned filesAffected if Version is present but shows a version number lower than 2.2.0 (e.g., 2.1.x, 2.0.x, 1.x)
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Confirm the application binary locationLocate the main executable (typically BatteryLifeDiagnosticTool.exe or similar) by searching the Program Files directory or checking the Start Menu shortcut propertiesAffected if The executable is located in a directory where unprivileged users have write permissions, such as a user-writable folder or network share
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Check for vulnerable DLL loading behaviorUse process monitoring tools (e.g., Sysinternals Process Monitor) to observe DLL search paths when launching the tool. Look for the application loading DLLs from the current working directory or other user-writable locationsAffected if The tool loads DLLs from directories accessible to standard users (not protected system directories like System32)
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Verify installation directory permissionsRight-click the installation folder > Properties > Security tab. Check which users have Write or Modify permissions on the Intel Battery Life Diagnostic Tool directoryAffected if Standard authenticated users (non-admin) have Write or Modify access to the folder where the application executable resides
User is affected if Intel Battery Life Diagnostic Tool is installed with a version prior to 2.2.0 AND the application or its DLL search paths are accessible to unprivileged users who could place malicious files.
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 · scopedUpgrade Intel Battery Life Diagnostic Tool to version 2.2.0 or later to remediate the uncontrolled search path vulnerability.
Intel(R) Battery Life Diagnostic Tool version 2.2.0 or later
- 1. Visit the official Intel support website to download the latest version of the Intel(R) Battery Life Diagnostic Tool.
- 2. Locate the download for Intel(R) Battery Life Diagnostic Tool version 2.2.0 or later.
- 3. Download the installer for your specific system architecture (32-bit or 64-bit).
- 4. Close any running instances of the Battery Life Diagnostic Tool.
- 5. Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.
- 6. After installation, verify the installed version matches the patched release (2.2.0 or later).
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-36398 — 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-2022-36398 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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