CVE-2022-36438
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 · uneditedAsusSwitch.exe on ASUS personal computers (running Windows) sets weak file permissions, leading to local privilege escalation (this also can be used to delete files within the system arbitrarily). This affects ASUS System Control Interface 3 before 3.1.5.0, and AsusSwitch.exe before 1.0.10.0.
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 confidenceAsusSwitch.exe on ASUS Windows personal computers sets weak file permissions, allowing a local attacker to escalate privileges to administrator level or delete files arbitrarily on the system. This is due to improper permission configuration on files created or managed by the executable.
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< 1.0.10.0>= 3.0.0.0, < 3.1.5.0CVSS 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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Locate AsusSwitch.exe on the systemSearch for AsusSwitch.exe using File Explorer search or command: dir /s C:\AsusSwitch.exe or Get-ChildItem -Path C:\ -Recurse -Filter "AsusSwitch.exe" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinueAffected if The file exists on the system, proceed to version check. If not found, the product may not be installed.
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Check AsusSwitch.exe versionRight-click the file, select Properties, then view the Details tab for the Product Version. Alternatively, run: (Get-Item "C:\Program Files (x86)\ASUS\AsusSwitch\AsusSwitch.exe").VersionInfo.ProductVersionAffected if Version is present but less than 1.0.10.0 - the system is vulnerable.
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Locate ASUS System Control InterfaceSearch for ASCI or AsusControlPanel in Program Files: Get-ChildItem -Path "C:\Program Files*\ASUS*" -Recurse -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Where-Object {$_.Name -like "*SystemControl*" -or $_.Name -like "*ASCI*"}Affected if The software is present, proceed to version check.
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Check ASUS System Control Interface versionOpen Windows Settings > Apps & Features, search for "ASUS System Control Interface", view the version. Or check registry: Get-ItemProperty "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*" | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like "*System Control Interface*"}Affected if Version is >= 3.0.0.0 and < 3.1.5.0 - the system is vulnerable.
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Inspect file permissions on AsusSwitch.exeRight-click AsusSwitch.exe > Properties > Security tab. Check that Users, Everyone, or authenticated users do not have Full Control or Write permissions. Alternatively, run: icacls "C:\path\to\AsusSwitch.exe"Affected if Any non-admin user account has Write or Full Control permission - the privilege escalation vulnerability is present.
A system is affected if AsusSwitch.exe version is below 1.0.10.0 or ASUS System Control Interface is between 3.0.0.0 and 3.1.5.0, AND weak file permissions allow unprivileged modification of the executable or its 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 · scoped1.0.10.03.1.5.0
Update ASUS System Control Interface 3 to version 3.1.5.0 or later, and AsusSwitch.exe to version 1.0.10.0 or later to remediate the weak file permissions vulnerability.
AsusSwitch 1.0.10.0 or later; ASUS System Control Interface 3.1.5.0 or later
- Identify which ASUS software is installed on the system: check for AsusSwitch.exe or ASUS System Control Interface (ASUSTek System Control Interface) in installed programs
- Open Windows Settings > Apps > Apps & features to view installed ASUS software and note the current version
- For AsusSwitch: If version is below 1.0.10.0, download and install version 1.0.10.0 or later from the official ASUS support website (asus.com)
- For ASUS System Control Interface: If version is between 3.0.0.0 and 3.1.5.0, download and install version 3.1.5.0 or later from the official ASUS support website (asus.com)
- After installation, verify the new version is correctly installed and the file permissions on AsusSwitch.exe have been hardened
- Restart the computer to ensure all services load with the updated permissions
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 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-2022-36438 — 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-2022-36438 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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