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

CVE-2024-36280

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-02-12
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) High Level Synthesis Compiler software before version 24.2 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 High Level Synthesis Compiler versions before 24.2 contain an uncontrolled search path vulnerability where the software may load malicious DLLs from untrusted locations. An authenticated local user could exploit this by placing malicious DLLs in the search path, causing the compiler to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges.

MitigationUpgrade Intel High Level Synthesis Compiler to version 24.2 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

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. Locate Intel HLS Compiler installation
    Check common installation directories such as C:\Program Files\Intel\intel_hls_compiler or C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\intel_hls_compiler, or look for i++.exe or acompiler.exe executables in Intel Quartus or oneAPI installation folders
    Affected if Compiler is not found in expected locations - version cannot be determined
  2. Identify compiler executable version
    Right-click on the main compiler executable (typically i++.exe or acompiler.exe in the bin folder) and view Properties, or run 'i++.exe --version' from command line
    Affected if Version displayed is blank or cannot be retrieved
  3. Compare installed version to 24.2
    Parse the version number from the executable properties or version output. Versions before 24.2 (such as 24.1, 23.x, 22.x, etc.) are affected
    Affected if The installed version number is less than 24.2 (e.g., 24.1.x, 23.4, 23.1, 22.3, etc.)
  4. Confirm DLL search path behavior during compilation
    Observe that the vulnerability triggers when the compiler loads DLLs during design compilation - the DLL search path is used to resolve compiler dependencies
    Affected if The compiler is used to compile HLS designs and loads DLLs from the system search path

A user is affected if the installed Intel HLS Compiler version is before 24.2, as this version range contains the uncontrolled search path vulnerability that allows malicious DLL loading.

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

Upgrade Intel High Level Synthesis Compiler to version 24.2 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Intel High Level Synthesis Compiler version 24.2 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current version of Intel High Level Synthesis Compiler installed on the system
  2. 2. Download Intel High Level Synthesis Compiler version 24.2 or later from the official Intel website or download center
  3. 3. Close any applications using the Intel HLS Compiler
  4. 4. Run the installer for version 24.2
  5. 5. Follow the installation wizard prompts to complete the upgrade
  6. 6. Verify the installation was successful by checking the compiler version
  7. 7. Rebuild any projects that depend on the HLS Compiler to ensure compatibility

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
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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-2024-36280 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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