CVE-2023-49603
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 · uneditedRace condition in some Intel(R) System Security Report and System Resources Defense firmware may allow a privileged 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 confidenceA race condition in Intel System Security Report and System Resources Defense firmware allows a privileged local user to escalate privileges. The vulnerability stems from improper synchronization in the firmware's security mechanisms, enabling a time-of-check-to-time-of-use (TOCTOU) attack where an attacker with existing privileged access can manipulate system state during the race window to gain higher privileges.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/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.
-
Identify Intel System Security Report and System Resources Defense componentsCheck system inventory, firmware tables, or BIOS/UEFI setup for presence of Intel System Security Report or System Resources Defense firmware features. On Windows, run 'wmic bios list full' or check Intel management engine components. On Linux, check 'dmidecode' output or /sys/class/dmi/id files for Intel firmware entries.Affected if Either Intel System Security Report or System Resources Defense firmware components are present on the system
-
Determine firmware versionRetrieve the installed firmware version for Intel System Security Report or System Resources Defense components. Use Intel firmware update utilities, BIOS/UEFI version info, or management engine firmware version checks. Compare against the version Intel released as the patch (contact Intel support or check Intel security advisory for the fixed version number).Affected if The firmware version is lower than the version Intel has released as the patch for this CVE
-
Verify the vulnerable service is enabledCheck if Intel System Security Report or System Resources Defense services are running or enabled. On Windows, check Services console or 'sc query'. On Linux, check systemd services or running processes related to Intel security report or system resources defense.Affected if The Intel System Security Report or System Resources Defense service is installed and running
-
Check for privileged user contextVerify if untrusted privileged local users exist or if the system allows new privileged local accounts. Review local user group memberships (Administrators on Windows, sudo/wheel on Linux) and check for unexpected accounts with elevated privileges.Affected if Multiple privileged local users exist or the system permits non-admin users to gain local admin privileges through the race window
A system is affected if it has Intel System Security Report or System Resources Defense firmware components installed with an unpatched version and the service is enabled, allowing a privileged local user to exploit the TOCTOU race condition.
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 the Intel firmware update for affected System Security Report and System Resources Defense components. Since this is a firmware-level vulnerability, no workarounds exist; patching is mandatory.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $2,272.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-49603 — 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-2023-49603 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