CVE-2023-46691
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 · uneditedUse after free 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 confidenceUse-after-free memory corruption vulnerability in Intel Power Gadget for Windows allows an authenticated local attacker to potentially achieve privilege escalation by exploiting freed memory that is still accessed.
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 Start Menu, Program Files directory, or check for the executable file (typically named 'IntelPowerGadget.exe') in common installation locationsAffected if The software is found installed on the system
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Identify the installed version of Intel Power GadgetRight-click the Intel Power Gadget executable, select Properties, and view the 'Product version' or 'File version' field in the Details tab. Alternatively, launch the application and check the About or Help section for the version numberAffected if The version number displayed is lower than 3.6.0
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Confirm the vulnerability applies if the software is runningVerify that Intel Power Gadget is currently running as a background service or active process (check Task Manager for 'IntelPowerGadget.exe' or 'Intel Power Gadget' process)Affected if The vulnerable software is installed with a version below 3.6.0 AND is actively running or loaded on the system
The system is affected if Intel Power Gadget is installed with a version lower than 3.6.0, regardless of whether it is currently running, since the vulnerable code is present on the machine.
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 available patches from Intel for Power Gadget software; if no patch exists, consider disabling the software until a fix is available or implement compensating controls such as restricting user access to the affected component.
Intel Power Gadget 3.6.0 or later
- 1. Identify the current version of Intel Power Gadget installed on the Windows system
- 2. If the installed version is below 3.6.0, download Intel Power Gadget version 3.6.0 or later from the official Intel website
- 3. Uninstall the current version of Intel Power Gadget through Windows Settings or Control Panel
- 4. Install the updated version (3.6.0 or newer) of Intel Power Gadget
- 5. Restart the system if prompted
- 6. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds 3.6.0
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $2,592.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-46691 — 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-2023-46691 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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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