dbcve.org
Quickassist Technology LibraryApplication · Intel

CVE-2023-28378

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.10 / 2.04 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
Improper authorization in some Intel(R) QAT drivers for Windows - HW Version 2.0 before version 2.0.4 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 · moderate confidence

This is an improper authorization vulnerability in Intel QAT (QuickAssist Technology) drivers for Windows HW Version 2.0. The flaw allows an authenticated local user to escalate privileges due to insufficient authorization checks in the driver, potentially gaining elevated system access.

MitigationUpgrade Intel QAT drivers for Windows to version 2.0.4 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

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
Quickassist Technology LibraryApplication
Affected:= 22.07.1
Quickassist Technology FirmwareOperating system
Affected:>= 1.0, < 1.10>= 2.0, < 2.04

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. Locate Intel QAT software installation
    Check for Intel QAT drivers in Program Files directories (e.g., C:\Program Files\Intel\QAT or C:\Program Files\Intel\QuickAssist) and look for driver files (.sys) or library files (.dll) with 'QAT' in the filename
    Affected if Intel QAT software is present on the system
  2. Identify QAT Library version
    Right-click on the QAT library DLLs (such as qatlib.dll or similar) in the Intel QAT installation directory, select Properties, and check the File Version in the Details tab. Alternatively, check the Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Intel\QAT for version entries
    Affected if The installed library version is exactly 22.07.1
  3. Identify QAT Firmware version
    Query the Intel QAT driver or use the QAT提供的管理工具 (QAT management tool) to retrieve the firmware version. Check the driver file properties or use 'driverquery' command to list QAT drivers and their details
    Affected if The firmware version is 1.0 through 1.9, or 2.0 through 2.03
  4. Verify driver component is loaded
    Open Device Manager, look for Intel QAT devices under 'System devices' or 'Intel QuickAssist Technology' category, or run 'sc query qat' or similar service query commands to check if QAT driver services are running
    Affected if Intel QAT driver service is present and running on the system
  5. Confirm user access context
    Determine if the current user is an authenticated local user on the Windows system. This vulnerability is exploitable by an authenticated local user, so check if local user accounts exist and are in use
    Affected if Authenticated local user accounts are present on the system where QAT drivers are installed

If Intel QAT software is installed and the Library version is 22.07.1 OR the Firmware version is between 1.0-1.9 or 2.0-2.03, the system is affected by this privilege escalation vulnerability.

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 1.10 / 2.04 or later
Fixed in 1.102.04
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Intel QAT drivers for Windows to version 2.0.4 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Quickassist Technology Firmware 2.0.4 (for HW v2.0) or 1.10 (for HW v1.0)

  1. Identify the installed Quickassist Technology Firmware version by checking the QAT driver version or firmware version on the affected Windows system
  2. For HW Version 1.x (1.0 to <1.10): Upgrade Quickassist Technology Firmware to version 1.10 or later
  3. For HW Version 2.x (2.0 to <2.04): Upgrade Quickassist Technology Firmware to version 2.04 or later
  4. Verify the upgrade was successful by confirming the new firmware version is loaded

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

Fix this in Quickassist Technology Library Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,690
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,304.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-28378 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2023-28378 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data