Uncontrolled Search Path (DLL Hijack)Weakness · CWE-427

CVE-2024-21766

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-08-14
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
67/100
Remediation priority · Elevated

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
Uncontrolled search path for some Intel(R) oneAPI Math Kernel Library software before version 2024.1 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 · high confidence

Intel oneAPI Math Kernel Library before version 2024.1 contains an uncontrolled search path vulnerability allowing DLL/library hijacking. An authenticated local user could place malicious libraries in the search path to achieve privilege escalation when the affected software loads those libraries.

MitigationUpdate Intel oneAPI Math Kernel Library to version 2024.1 or later. Audit systems for unauthorized library placement in application directories.

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
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/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 oneAPI MKL installation
    Search for the Intel oneAPI MKL installation directory on the system, or check Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Intel\OneAPI for MKL entries.
    Affected if Intel oneAPI MKL is present on the system
  2. Identify installed version
    Examine the version information of the MKL library files (such as mkl*.dll on Windows or libmkl* on Linux) or check version metadata in the installation directory.
    Affected if A version number for Intel oneAPI MKL can be determined
  3. Compare version to fixed release
    Compare the identified version to 2024.1. If the version is lower than 2024.1, the installation is vulnerable to the uncontrolled search path flaw.
    Affected if The installed version is before 2024.1
  4. Confirm library is loaded
    Monitor for processes that load the Intel oneAPI MKL libraries, or review application configurations that link against MKL.
    Affected if Any application loads or links against the vulnerable MKL library

The environment is affected if Intel oneAPI MKL is installed with a version lower than 2024.1 and any application loads the library.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update Intel oneAPI Math Kernel Library to version 2024.1 or later. Audit systems for unauthorized library placement in application directories.

Recommended fix High confidence

Intel(R) oneAPI Math Kernel Library version 2024.1

  1. 1. Identify the current version of Intel(R) oneAPI Math Kernel Library installed on the system
  2. 2. Download Intel(R) oneAPI Math Kernel Library version 2024.1 from the official Intel website or Intel Developer Catalog
  3. 3. Uninstall the existing version of Intel oneAPI Math Kernel Library
  4. 4. Install version 2024.1 using the Intel installer
  5. 5. Verify the installation was successful by checking the installed version matches 2024.1
  6. 6. Reboot the system if required by the installer
Caveat Review Intel's release notes for version 2024.1 to check for any API changes or compatibility considerations with existing applications

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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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-2024-21766 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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