CVE-2023-45846
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 · uneditedIncomplete cleanup in Intel(R) Power Gadget software for macOS all versions may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable denial of service 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 confidenceIncomplete cleanup in Intel(R) Power Gadget for macOS may allow an authenticated local user to cause denial of service, likely through resource exhaustion or improper handling of system resources.
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
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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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Verify Intel Power Gadget is installedOpen Terminal and run: ls /Applications | grep -i "Power Gadget" or check /Applications folder for 'Intel Power Gadget.app'Affected if The application folder exists in /Applications
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Determine installed versionRun: defaults read /Applications/\"Intel Power Gadget.app\"/Contents/Info CFBundleShortVersionString 2>/dev/null or right-click the app in Finder, select Get Info, and check Version fieldAffected if Version returned is lower than 3.6.0 (e.g., 3.5.x, 3.0.x, etc.)
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Check running processesRun: ps aux | grep -i "Intel Power Gadget" or open Activity Monitor and search for 'Intel Power Gadget' processesAffected if The application is currently running and version is below 3.6.0
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Review system logs for resource issuesRun: log show --predicate 'process == "Intel Power Gadget"' --last 24h 2>/dev/null | head -50 to check for crash or resource exhaustion entriesAffected if Logs show repeated crashes, memory leaks, or resource exhaustion patterns while using the application
A user is affected if Intel Power Gadget is installed with a version lower than 3.6.0 and the application is in use, as the incomplete cleanup vulnerability requires the software to be running for a local authenticated user to trigger denial of service.
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
Update Intel Power Gadget to the latest patched version when available; if no patch exists, uninstall the software or restrict local user access to minimize attack surface.
3.6.0 or later
- Navigate to the Intel website and download Intel(R) Power Gadget version 3.6.0 or later
- Locate the downloaded installer file (typically named something like PowerGadgetSetup.dmg or similar)
- Open the installer by double-clicking on the .dmg file
- Follow the on-screen installation prompts to complete the installation
- Restart any running instances of Power Gadget if applicable
- Verify the installed version by checking About or Help > Version information to confirm version 3.6.0 or later is installed
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-45846 — 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-2023-45846 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