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Driver \& Support AssistantApplication · Intel

CVE-2023-50197

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2024-05-03
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

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 · unedited
Intel Driver & Support Assistant Link Following Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows local attackers to escalate privileges on affected installations of Intel Driver & Support Assistant. An attacker must first obtain the ability to execute low-privileged code on the target system in order to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the DSA Service. By creating a symbolic link, an attacker can abuse the service to write a file. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code in the context of SYSTEM. Was ZDI-CAN-21845.

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 · high confidence

The Intel Driver & Support Assistant (DSA) service contains a link-following vulnerability where the service creates or writes files without properly validating symbolic link targets. An attacker with low-privileged code execution can create a malicious symlink to cause the privileged DSA service to write an arbitrary file (such as a DLL or executable) to a protected location, achieving code execution as the SYSTEM user.

MitigationApply the vendor patch from Intel for CVE-2023-50197, or if the service is unnecessary, uninstall Intel Driver & Support Assistant or disable the DSA service to eliminate the attack surface.

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
Driver \& Support AssistantApplication
Affected:= 23.3.25.6

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
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify Intel DSA is installed
    Check for Intel Driver & Support Assistant in Programs and Features (Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features), or query the registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ for entries containing 'Intel Driver & Support Assistant'
    Affected if Intel Driver & Support Assistant appears in installed programs list
  2. Confirm installed version
    Right-click the Intel DSA entry in Programs and Features to view the Version field, or query the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Intel\DriverAndSupportAssistant\Version if it exists
    Affected if Version displayed equals exactly 23.3.25.6 (this is the only affected version listed)
  3. Check if DSA service is running
    Open Services (services.msc) and locate 'Intel Driver & Support Assistant' service, or run 'sc query DSA' from an elevated command prompt
    Affected if The DSA service status shows as Running - the vulnerability requires the service to be active to write files via symlink manipulation
  4. Verify service executes with elevated privileges
    Run 'sc qc DSA' to query the service configuration, noting the SERVICE_START_NAME (look for LocalSystem or NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM)
    Affected if Service runs as SYSTEM or LocalSystem account - this privilege level is required for the symlink attack to achieve code execution as SYSTEM
  5. Assess symlink attack surface
    Examine directory permissions on %ProgramFiles%\Intel\Driver and Support Assistant\ and %ProgramData%\Intel\DSA\ (right-click folder > Properties > Security tab) to determine if low-privileged users can create symlinks in these locations
    Affected if Low-privileged users (authenticated users or standard users) have Create symbolic links permission or write access to directories where DSA writes output files

You are affected if Intel Driver & Support Assistant version 23.3.25.6 is installed, the DSA service is running, and low-privileged users have the ability to create symlinks in directories accessed by the service.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the vendor patch from Intel for CVE-2023-50197, or if the service is unnecessary, uninstall Intel Driver & Support Assistant or disable the DSA service to eliminate the attack surface.

Fix this in Driver \& Support Assistant Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-50197 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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
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