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

CVE-2025-21093

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-12
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 element for some Intel(R) Driver & Support Assistant Tool software before version 24.6.49.8 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 Driver & Support Assistant Tool before version 24.6.49.8 contains an uncontrolled search path element vulnerability. This allows an authenticated local attacker to perform DLL hijacking or binary planting by placing malicious files in a directory that the application searches when loading resources, potentially achieving privilege escalation.

MitigationUpdate Intel Driver & Support Assistant Tool to version 24.6.49.8 or later. Ensure only trusted directories are in the application search path and remove any world-writable directories from PATH variables.

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 the Intel Driver & Support Assistant executable
    Open Task Manager or use Tasklist to find the running process, or navigate to the typical installation directory (e.g., C:\Program Files\Intel\Driver and Support Assistant\). The main executable is typically named IntelDriverAndSupportAssistant.exe or similar.
    Affected if The executable is present on the system.
  2. Determine the installed version
    Right-click the executable file, select Properties, then go to the Details tab to view the Product Version field. Alternatively, open Windows Settings > Apps & Features, locate Intel Driver & Support Assistant, and note the version shown.
    Affected if The version number is lower than 24.6.49.8 (for example, 24.5.0.0 or any version prior to 24.6.49.8).
  3. Verify the application is actively used or scheduled to run
    Check Task Manager for a running process named IntelDriverAndSupportAssistant, or check Task Scheduler for any Intel-related scheduled tasks that would trigger the application.
    Affected if The application runs or is scheduled to run, exposing the search path to potential DLL hijacking.
  4. Inspect the system PATH environment variable for untrusted directories
    Open System Properties > Environment Variables, or run 'echo %PATH%' in Command Prompt. Review each directory in the PATH for world-writable permissions or locations accessible to untrusted users (such as temp folders or public shares).
    Affected if Any directory in PATH is world-writable or controlled by an untrusted user, allowing them to place malicious DLLs or binaries.

A user is affected if Intel Driver & Support Assistant version is below 24.6.49.8 AND the application is present on the system, particularly if untrusted directories exist in the PATH.

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

Update Intel Driver & Support Assistant Tool to version 24.6.49.8 or later. Ensure only trusted directories are in the application search path and remove any world-writable directories from PATH variables.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

24.6.49.8 or later

  1. Download Intel Driver & Support Assistant version 24.6.49.8 or later from the official Intel website
  2. Verify the file integrity using checksums provided by Intel
  3. Close any running instances of Intel Driver & Support Assistant
  4. Install the updated version of Intel Driver & Support Assistant
  5. Restart the system if prompted to ensure the update completes successfully

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
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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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-2025-21093 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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