CVE-2023-42773
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 neutralization in Intel(R) Power Gadget software for Windows all versions 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 confidenceIntel Power Gadget for Windows contains an improper input validation vulnerability that allows an authenticated local user to elevate privileges. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input sanitization within the application, enabling a local attacker to execute code with 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< 3.6.0CVSS 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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Check if Intel Power Gadget is installedLook for Intel Power Gadget in the Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall or check for the installation directory at C:\Program Files\Intel\Power Gadget 3.6 or C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\Power Gadget 3.6Affected if The application is found installed on the system
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Locate the Intel Power Gadget executableSearch for Power Gadget.exe or IntelPowerGadget.exe in the installation directory and subdirectories, or use Get-ChildItem -Path "C:\Program Files","C:\Program Files (x86)" -Recurse -Filter "*Power*Gadget*" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinueAffected if The executable is present on the system
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Determine the installed versionRight-click the executable, select Properties, then go to the Details tab to view the File Version, or run (Get-Item "path\to\PowerGadget.exe").VersionInfoAffected if The version shown is less than 3.6.0 (for example, 3.5.x, 3.0.x, etc.)
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Check if the Intel Power Gadget service or driver is activeOpen Services.msc and look for Intel Power Gadget related services, or run Get-Service | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like "*Intel*Power*Gadget*"} to list any running servicesAffected if The service or driver is running on the system
A user is affected if Intel Power Gadget version 3.6.0 or higher is NOT installed on their Windows system, meaning a version lower than 3.6.0 is present and the application is accessible to authenticated local users.
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 · scoped3.6.0
Apply the latest Intel Power Gadget patch or uninstall the software if unused. If patching is not immediately feasible, restrict user access to the application and monitor for suspicious local activity.
Intel Power Gadget 3.6.0
- Navigate to the official Intel website and download Intel Power Gadget version 3.6.0 or later
- Uninstall the currently installed version of Intel Power Gadget from the Windows system
- Install the newly downloaded version 3.6.0 or later
- Restart the computer if prompted by the installer
- Verify the installation by checking that the installed version is 3.6.0 or higher
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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-2023-42773 — 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-2023-42773 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