CVE-2023-27386
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 some Intel(R) Pathfinder for RISC-V software 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 confidenceIntel Pathfinder for RISC-V software contains an uncontrolled search path vulnerability where the application loads executables or libraries without using a fully qualified path, allowing an authenticated local attacker to place a malicious file in a location the application searches, potentially achieving privilege escalation.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/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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Confirm Intel Pathfinder for RISC-V is installedCheck installed programs list in Control Panel or use 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object DisplayName' in PowerShell to list installed software. Look for 'Intel Pathfinder for RISC-V'Affected if The software is present on the system, indicating a potential attack surface
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Identify the application executable locationLocate the main executable (typically in Program Files or Program Files (x86) under Intel/Pathfinder). Note the directory path from which the application is launchedAffected if The application runs from a directory with write access to non-privileged users, allowing binary planting
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Check directory permissions on application folderRight-click the installation folder, go to Properties > Security, and verify which users have Write or Modify permissions. Use 'icacls <path>' command for detailed ACL reviewAffected if Non-admin users have Write or Modify access to directories in the application's search path
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Inspect application directory for unexpected filesList all files in the application directory using 'dir' or File Explorer. Look for unexpected .dll, .exe, or .config files, especially those with recent modification dates or suspicious namesAffected if Unexpected executables or libraries exist in the application directory that could be loaded by the vulnerable application
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Review process behavior during application startupUse Process Monitor (from Sysinternals) to capture DLL and executable loading events when launching Intel Pathfinder for RISC-V. Filter by the process name and examine Load Image eventsAffected if The application loads any DLL or executable from directories that are not fully qualified paths or from user-writable locations
A user is affected if Intel Pathfinder for RISC-V is installed and runs from directories where untrusted users have write access, allowing potential DLL/executable planting attacks.
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.
From vendor dataApply the vendor patch from Intel when available. In the interim, ensure the application runs from trusted directories only and restrict write access to directories in the search path to prevent binary planting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-27386 — 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-2023-27386 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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