CVE-2023-41961
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) GPA software before version 2023.3 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 confidenceThis is an uncontrolled search path vulnerability (DLL planting/hijacking) in Intel GPA software versions prior to 2023.3. An authenticated local user can place malicious files in directories the application searches when loading resources, potentially executing arbitrary code at elevated privileges.
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< 2023.3CVSS 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 Intel GPA installation directoryCheck common installation paths such as C:\Program Files\Intel\GPA or C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\GPA, or use the Windows Registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Intel\GPA to find the installation path.Affected if Intel GPA is installed in any directory on the system.
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Identify installed Intel GPA versionOpen the Intel GPA installation directory and locate a version file (such as version.txt, or right-click the main executable like gpa.exe and select Properties > Details to view the File Version).Affected if The installed version number is lower than 2023.3.
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Check for vulnerable DLL loading behaviorRun Intel GPA with a debugging or monitoring tool (such as Process Monitor from Sysinternals) filtered to the gpa.exe process. Look for DLL load attempts from directories writable by standard users (for example, the application directory itself or the user's Temp folder).Affected if The application loads DLLs from directories where an authenticated local user has write permissions.
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Verify current process privilege levelOpen Task Manager, locate any running Intel GPA processes (such as gpa.exe or related components), and check if they are running with elevated privileges (higher integrity level).Affected if Intel GPA components are executing with elevated privileges while also loading DLLs from user-writable locations.
The system is affected if Intel Graphics Performance Analyzers version 2023.3 or later is not installed, AND the application loads DLLs from directories writable by non-privileged users while running with elevated privileges.
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 · scoped2023.3
Upgrade Intel GPA software to version 2023.3 or later which contains the security fix. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, implement application control policies to restrict the software from loading unsigned libraries from untrusted locations.
2023.3
- Download Intel Graphics Performance Analyzers version 2023.3 or later from the official Intel website
- Close any running GPA applications and related processes
- Uninstall the current (vulnerable) version of Intel GPA through Windows Control Panel or the uninstaller
- Run the installer for version 2023.3
- Follow the installation wizard prompts to complete the upgrade
- Restart the system if prompted
- Verify the installed version is 2023.3 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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-2023-41961 — 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-2023-41961 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data