Extreme Tuning UtilityApplication · Intel

CVE-2024-21835

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.14.0.15 or later.
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
Insecure inherited permissions in some Intel(R) XTU software before version 7.14.0.15 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 XTU (Xtreme Tuning Utility) before version 7.14.0.15 contains insecure inherited permissions that allow an authenticated local user to escalate privileges, potentially gaining higher system access than intended.

MitigationUpgrade Intel XTU to version 7.14.0.15 or later to remediate the insecure permission inheritance vulnerability.

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
Extreme Tuning UtilityApplication
Affected:< 7.14.0.15

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:3.1/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 checks

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

  1. Check if Intel XTU is installed
    Open Windows Settings > Apps > Installed apps, or use PowerShell: Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*' | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like '*Intel*Xtreme*'}
    Affected if Intel XTU appears in the installed programs list
  2. Determine the installed version of Intel XTU
    Locate the Intel XTU executable (typically at C:\Program Files\Intel\Intel(R) Extreme Tuning Utility\IntelXTU.exe), right-click > Properties > Details tab, or run: (Get-Item 'C:\Program Files\Intel\Intel(R) Extreme Tuning Utility\IntelXTU.exe').VersionInfo.FileVersion
    Affected if The version displayed is lower than 7.14.0.15
  3. Verify the Intel XTU service is configured
    Open Services (services.msc) and locate the 'Intel(R) Extreme Tuning Utility Service' entry, or run: Get-Service -Name '*XTU*' to check if the service exists and its status
    Affected if The service exists and is running (vulnerability requires the service to be active for privilege escalation)
  4. Check file permissions on Intel XTU installation directory
    Right-click the Intel XTU folder (typically C:\Program Files\Intel\Intel(R) Extreme Tuning Utility\) > Properties > Security tab, and verify if standard users have write or modify permissions to executable files
    Affected if Authenticated local users have write/modify access to XTU executable files or service configuration

Your system is affected if Intel XTU version is below 7.14.0.15 and the XTU service or executable is accessible to authenticated local users with weak permissions.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 7.14.0.15 or later
Fixed in 7.14.0.15
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Intel XTU to version 7.14.0.15 or later to remediate the insecure permission inheritance vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Intel Extreme Tuning Utility 7.14.0.15

  1. 1. Verify the current version of Intel Extreme Tuning Utility (XTU) installed on the system
  2. 2. Download Intel Extreme Tuning Utility version 7.14.0.15 or later from the official Intel website (www.intel.com)
  3. 3. Close any running instances of XTU
  4. 4. Run the installer with administrator privileges
  5. 5. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation
  6. 6. Restart the system if prompted
  7. 7. Verify the installed version shows 7.14.0.15 or higher

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

Fix this in Extreme Tuning Utility Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing0.5 h
  • Review / QA0.5 h
3.0 hours of engineering $750
Get the upgrade done

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

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2024-21835 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data