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Quartus PrimeApplication · Intel

CVE-2025-14599

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 25.1 or later.
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 Element vulnerability in Altera Quartus Prime Standard Installer (SFX) on Windows, Altera Quartus Prime Lite  Installer (SFX) on Windows allows Search Order Hijacking.This issue affects Quartus Prime Standard: from 23.1 through 24.1; Quartus Prime Lite: from 23.1 through 24.1.

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

This is a Search Order Hijacking (uncontrolled search path element) vulnerability in the Quartus Prime installer (SFX) on Windows. The installer loads DLLs or other resources from locations controllable by an attacker (likely the current working directory), allowing malicious DLL injection during the installation process.

MitigationDeploy the vendorpatched Quartus Prime version (24.2 or later) from official Intel/Altera channels. Prior to running the installer, ensure the working directory is clean and free of any attacker-controlled files, and run with least privilege.

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
Quartus PrimeApplication
Affected:>= 23.1, < 25.1

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. Check installed Quartus Prime version
    Open Intel Quartus Prime and go to Help > About, or check the version in the installation directory (e.g., C:\intelquartus\quartus\bin\quartus_sh --version)
    Affected if The installed version is 23.1 through 24.3 (any version >= 23.1 and < 25.1)
  2. Verify installer version before running
    Before launching the Quartus Prime installer, right-click the .exe file, select Properties, and check the File Version field under the Details tab
    Affected if The installer file version corresponds to Quartus Prime >= 23.1 and < 25.1
  3. Inspect current working directory before installation
    Before running the installer, open Command Prompt in the folder containing the installer and run 'dir /a' to list all files; check for unexpected .dll, .exe, or .ocx files
    Affected if The directory contains DLL files not originating from Intel, as the installer may load them from the current working directory
  4. Check for suspicious DLLs in installer folder
    Review the folder where the Quartus installer resides for any files with .dll extension that were not part of the official download
    Affected if Unsigned or unfamiliar DLL files exist in the installer directory that could be preloaded

You are affected if Quartus Prime version 23.1 through 24.3 is installed, or if you use an affected installer version in a directory containing untrusted DLL files.

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 25.1 or later
Fixed in 25.1
Interim mitigation

Deploy the vendorpatched Quartus Prime version (24.2 or later) from official Intel/Altera channels. Prior to running the installer, ensure the working directory is clean and free of any attacker-controlled files, and run with least privilege.

Recommended fix High confidence

Quartus Prime Standard/Lite version 25.1 or later

  1. Verify current Quartus Prime version by opening Quartus Prime and checking Help > About, or checking the installation directory name
  2. Download Quartus Prime version 25.1 or later from the official Intel/Altera website (www.altera.com or downloads.intel.com)
  3. Uninstall the current Quartus Prime installation via Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features
  4. Run the installer for the new version 25.1 or later
  5. Follow the installation wizard prompts to complete the installation
  6. Verify the installed version shows 25.1 or later after installation
Caveat When upgrading major versions, ensure existing projects and IP cores are compatible; back up project files before uninstalling

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

Fix this in Quartus Prime 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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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-2025-14599 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