CVE-2025-20043
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 for some Intel(R) RealSense™ SDK software before version 2.56.2 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 confidenceIntel RealSense SDK before version 2.56.2 contains an uncontrolled search path vulnerability that allows an authenticated local attacker to place malicious DLLs in the application search path. When the SDK loads these DLLs, they execute with elevated privileges, enabling local privilege escalation.
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 RealSense SDK is installedLook for RealSense SDK installation directories (common paths: C:\Program Files\Intel\RealSense, C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\RealSense) or check Add/Remove Programs for Intel RealSense entriesAffected if Intel RealSense SDK is found on the system
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Determine installed SDK versionLocate the SDK installation folder and look for version information in file properties, release notes, or a version file. Compare the version to 2.56.2Affected if Installed version is earlier than 2.56.2
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Identify RealSense DLL search pathsCheck the environment PATH variable and any application configuration files that specify DLL search paths for RealSense componentsAffected if Search paths are writable by low-privileged users
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Check for running RealSense applicationsLook for processes that use RealSense SDK (common process names include RealSense, realsense, or applications that integrate the SDK) using Task Manager or command-line toolsAffected if RealSense-dependent applications or services are running with elevated privileges
The system is affected if Intel RealSense SDK version 2.56.2 or earlier is installed and applications using the SDK are executed, allowing a local attacker to inject malicious DLLs into the search path.
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 · scopedUpgrade Intel RealSense SDK to version 2.56.2 or later to remediate the uncontrolled search path vulnerability.
Intel RealSense SDK version 2.56.2
- 1. Identify the current version of Intel RealSense SDK installed on the system
- 2. Navigate to the official Intel RealSense download page or support portal
- 3. Download Intel RealSense SDK version 2.56.2 or later
- 4. Uninstall the existing Intel RealSense SDK installation
- 5. Install the downloaded version 2.56.2 or later
- 6. Verify the installed version matches the patched release
- 7. Restart any applications that use the RealSense SDK to ensure they load the updated libraries
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-20043 — 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-2025-20043 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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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.
- 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