CVE-2023-24589
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 · uneditedImproper buffer restrictions in some Intel(R) Thunderbolt(TM) DCH drivers for Windows before version 88 may allow a privileged 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 confidenceIntel Thunderbolt DCH drivers for Windows prior to version 88 contain improper buffer restrictions that could allow a privileged user to escalate privileges via local access. The vulnerability stems from insufficient bounds checking in the driver, potentially enabling a local attacker with existing administrative privileges to execute arbitrary code at a higher privilege level.
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< 88CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:L
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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Identify if Intel Thunderbolt DCH driver is installedOpen Device Manager, expand 'System devices', and look for 'Intel(R) Thunderbolt(TM) Controller' or similar Thunderbolt-related entries. Alternatively, run 'driverquery /v | findstr -i thunderbolt' in Command Prompt.Affected if No Intel Thunderbolt device is listed in Device Manager or driverquery returns no results, then the system is not vulnerable to this specific issue.
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Retrieve the installed Thunderbolt driver versionRight-click the Intel Thunderbolt device in Device Manager, select Properties, go to the Driver tab, and note the Driver Version. Alternatively, run 'Get-WmiObject Win32_PnPSignedDriver | Where-Object {$_.DeviceName -like "*Thunderbolt*"} | Select-Object DriverVersion, DeviceName' in PowerShell.Affected if The driver version shown is less than 88 (for example, 87.x.x.x or lower). Versions prior to 88 are affected by this vulnerability.
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Verify the Thunderbolt driver service is loadedOpen Services (services.msc) and check for a Thunderbolt-related service, or run 'Get-Service | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like "*Thunderbolt*"}' in PowerShell.Affected if If the Thunderbolt driver and service are present and loaded, the vulnerability is potentially exploitable if the version is below 88.
The system is affected if Intel Thunderbolt DCH driver version is installed and is below version 88.
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 · scoped88
Update Intel Thunderbolt DCH drivers for Windows to version 88 or later. Apply the latest driver update through Intel's support channels or Windows Update.
Intel Thunderbolt DCH Driver for Windows version 88 or later
- Identify the current version of Intel Thunderbolt DCH Driver installed on the system
- Download Intel Thunderbolt DCH Driver version 88 or later from the official Intel support website
- Backup current system state before proceeding with driver update
- Install the updated Thunderbolt DCH Driver version 88 or newer
- Verify the installed driver version matches the target version
- Restart the system if required by the installation process
- Confirm the vulnerability is remediated by verifying driver version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 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-2023-24589 — 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-2023-24589 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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