dbcve.org
Unison SoftwareApplication · Intel

CVE-2023-39221

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-11-14
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 20.14.2.3053 / 20.14.4244 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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 access control for some Intel Unison software may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via network 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

Intel Unison software has an improper access control vulnerability that allows an authenticated user to escalate privileges via network access. This is a privilege escalation issue stemming from insufficient access control enforcement in the software.

MitigationApply available Intel Unison software updates and patches. Review and enforce least-privilege access controls for authenticated users, particularly for network-accessible functions.

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
Unison SoftwareApplication
Affected:< 20.14.5683.0< 20.14.4244< 20.14.2.3053

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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. Check if Intel Unison is installed
    On Windows, open Programs and Features or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion' in PowerShell. On macOS, check /Applications folder for Intel Unison.app or run 'ls /Applications | grep -i unison'
    Affected if Intel Unison software is not found on the system, the user is not affected by this specific vulnerability
  2. Determine installed Intel Unison version
    Open Intel Unison application, go to Settings > About, or on Windows run 'Get-ItemProperty "C:\Program Files\Intel\Unison\Unison.exe" | Select-Object VersionInfo | fl' to retrieve the file version
    Affected if Unable to determine version; proceed to next check assumes no Unison installation
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Compare your installed version number to all three affected thresholds: 20.14.5683.0, 20.14.4244, and 20.14.2.3053. If your version is lower than ANY of these three values, it falls within the affected range
    Affected if Installed version is less than 20.14.5683.0, or less than 20.14.4244, or less than 20.14.2.3053 (any one condition makes the version vulnerable)
  4. Verify if network pairing features are in use
    Open Intel Unison and check Settings or Connection status to see if the device has been paired with another device or has network connectivity enabled. Also check Windows Services for 'Intel Unison' service status
    Affected if Intel Unison is installed with a vulnerable version AND has active network pairing or remote connection capabilities enabled

User is affected if Intel Unison is installed with version below any of the three thresholds (20.14.5683.0, 20.14.4244, or 20.14.2.3053) AND network/remote access features are enabled or configured on the system.

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 20.14.2.3053 / 20.14.4244 / 20.14.5683.0 or later
Fixed in 20.14.2.305320.14.424420.14.5683.0
Interim mitigation

Apply available Intel Unison software updates and patches. Review and enforce least-privilege access controls for authenticated users, particularly for network-accessible functions.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to Intel Unison version 20.14.5683.0 or later (if on 20.14.5683.x branch), 20.14.4244 or later (if on 20.14.4244.x branch), or 20.14.2.3053 or later (if on 20.14.2.x branch)

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed Intel Unison software version by checking the application or system information
  2. 2. Determine which version branch your current installation belongs to (20.14.5683.x, 20.14.4244.x, or 20.14.2.x)
  3. 3. For version 20.14.5683.x branch: upgrade to version 20.14.5683.0 or later
  4. 4. For version 20.14.4244.x branch: upgrade to version 20.14.4244 or later
  5. 5. For version 20.14.2.x branch: upgrade to version 20.14.2.3053 or later
  6. 6. Verify the upgrade was successful and the new version is running
  7. 7. Test that normal functionality and any integration with other systems still works as expected
Caveat Review Intel release notes for any functionality changes or migration requirements between versions

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

Fix this in Unison Software Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,224.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-39221 — 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-2023-39221 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