CVE-2023-45221
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 buffer restrictions in Intel(R) Media SDK 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 Media SDK contains improper buffer restrictions that could allow an authenticated local user to exploit insufficient buffer bounds checking, potentially enabling privilege escalation through arbitrary code execution 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 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
- 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.
-
Locate Intel Media SDK installationSearch common installation directories: C:\Program Files\Intel\Media SDK or C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\Media SDK on Windows; /opt/intel/mediasdk or /usr/lib/intel-media-sdk on Linux. Also check Program Files for 'Intel Graphics Media SDK' or 'Intel Media SDK' folders.Affected if Intel Media SDK folder or binaries are found on the system
-
Check installed version via registry or metadataOn Windows, check registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Intel\MediaSDK or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Intel\MediaSDK for Version value. On Linux, run 'rpm -qa | grep mediasdk' or 'dpkg -l | grep mediasdk'.Affected if Any version of Intel Media SDK is installed (all versions are affected)
-
Verify SDK components are presentLook for key DLLs: libmfxsw64.dll, libmfxhw64.dll, mediasdk.dll, or libmfx.so in installation directories. Check for presence of 'msdk' or 'media sdk' in installed program lists.Affected if SDK DLLs or shared libraries associated with Intel Media SDK are present on the system
-
Identify processes using the SDKCheck running processes for applications that invoke Intel Media SDK for hardware-accelerated video encoding/decoding. Look for video editors, players, or streaming software using Intel Quick Sync Video. Use 'tasklist' or process monitoring tools.Affected if Any application utilizing Intel Media SDK hardware acceleration is running or has been run on the system
If Intel Media SDK is installed on the system (any version), the environment is affected since all versions contain the buffer restriction vulnerability.
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 vendor-supplied patches for Intel Media SDK when available; minimize local user privileges and restrict local access to systems with this software installed.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-45221 — 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-2023-45221 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
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.
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.
- 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