Improper Access ControlWeakness · CWE-284

CVE-2024-33227

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-22
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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
An issue in the component ddcdrv.sys of Nicomsoft WinI2C/DDC v3.7.4.0 allows attackers to escalate privileges and execute arbitrary code via sending crafted IOCTL requests.

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

A kernel-mode driver (ddcdrv.sys) in Nicomsoft WinI2C/DDC v3.7.4.0 contains improper IOCTL request handling that allows local attackers to send crafted IOCTL codes and achieve privilege escalation to execute arbitrary code with elevated (kernel) privileges.

MitigationApply vendor patch if available; otherwise, restrict or disable the ddcdrv.sys driver service, implement application whitelisting to prevent untrusted processes from accessing the driver, or remove the driver if not required.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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. Locate Nicomsoft WinI2C/DDC installation
    Check Program Files directories (e.g., C:\Program Files\Nicomsoft\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\Nicomsoft\) for the WinI2C/DDC installation folder. Also check the Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Nicomsoft or HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Nicomsoft for the installed path.
    Affected if The software is installed in any version, particularly versions at or below v3.7.4.0
  2. Verify ddcdrv.sys driver file exists
    Navigate to the driver directory within the installation folder (typically \Drivers\ or \System\ subfolder) and confirm the presence of ddcdrv.sys. Also search the system driver directory (C:\Windows\System32\drivers\) for the file.
    Affected if The file ddcdrv.sys exists on the system
  3. Check driver service status
    Open Services (services.msc) or run 'sc query ddcdrv' from command prompt to check if a service named 'ddcdrv' or similar Nicomsoft driver service exists and its current state (Running/Stopped).
    Affected if A ddcdrv service exists and is in Running state
  4. Confirm installed software version
    Within the Nicomsoft WinI2C/DDC installation folder, locate any version information file (e.g., version.txt, about.ini) or right-click the main executable and check Properties > Details for the File Version. Compare against the affected version v3.7.4.0.
    Affected if The installed version is v3.7.4.0 or lower
  5. Verify driver accessibility
    Check file permissions on ddcdrv.sys by right-clicking the file > Properties > Security, and confirm which user groups have Read/Execute access. Also verify if the driver is protected by limited permissions or accessible to standard users.
    Affected if Standard users or untrusted processes have access to interact with the driver

The system is affected if Nicomsoft WinI2C/DDC version 3.7.4.0 or lower is installed with the ddcdrv.sys driver present and accessible, allowing local privilege escalation via crafted IOCTL requests.

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 vendor patch if available; otherwise, restrict or disable the ddcdrv.sys driver service, implement application whitelisting to prevent untrusted processes from accessing the driver, or remove the driver if not required.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-33227 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-33227 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
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