CVE-2025-20015
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 · uneditedUncontrolled search path element for some Intel(R) Ethernet Connection software before version 29.4 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 confidenceIntel Ethernet Connection software before version 29.4 contains an uncontrolled search path element vulnerability where the application loads resources using an unqualified relative path. An authenticated local user can place a malicious file (such as a DLL) in a location the application searches, potentially causing arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges when the software loads the malicious resource.
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check if Intel Ethernet Connection software is installedOpen Windows Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Intel or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Intel. Look for keys related to 'Ethernet Connection' or 'Intel(R) Ethernet'. Alternatively, check Program Files folders for Intel network-related executables.Affected if No Intel Ethernet Connection software entries or directories are found in the system.
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Identify the installed version numberIn the same registry location (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Intel\...), examine the 'Version' or 'DriverVersion' string value associated with the Ethernet Connection component. The version is typically displayed as a four-part number (e.g., 29.1.0.5).Affected if The version value cannot be located or read from the registry.
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Compare the installed version to 29.4Parse the version number found in the registry or from the installed driver files. Compare the major version (29) and minor components against version 29.4. Any version below 29.4 (such as 29.3.x, 29.2.x, 29.1.x, or earlier major versions like 28.x) is considered affected.Affected if The installed version is a four-part number where the first component is less than 29, or the first component equals 29 but the second component is less than 4.
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Verify if the software runs with elevated privilegesReview the permissions and execution context of the Intel Ethernet Connection software components or associated services. Check the service properties in Windows Services (services.msc) for any Intel network-related services and note the 'Log on as' account setting.Affected if The Intel Ethernet Connection software runs as a service or with elevated privileges (such as LocalSystem or an administrator account), and the installed version is below 29.4.
A system is affected if Intel Ethernet Connection software is installed with a version lower than 29.4 and runs with elevated privileges, allowing a local authenticated user to place a malicious file in an application search path for code execution.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scopedUpdate Intel Ethernet Connection software to version 29.4 or later to remediate this vulnerability.
Intel Ethernet Connection software version 29.4
- Identify the current version of Intel(R) Ethernet Connection software installed on the system
- Download Intel(R) Ethernet Connection software version 29.4 or later from Intel's official support website
- Verify the download integrity using checksums if provided by Intel
- Backup existing network configuration settings
- Uninstall the current Intel Ethernet Connection software or run the installer to upgrade
- Restart the system as prompted by the installer
- Verify the installed version is 29.4 or later
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-20015 — 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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-20015 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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