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

CVE-2025-24491

MEDIUM · 6.7 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-11-11
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) Killer(TM) Performance Suite software before version killer 4.0 40.25.509.1465 within Ring 3: User Applications may allow an escalation of privilege. Unprivileged software adversary with an authenticated user combined with a high complexity attack may enable escalation of privilege. This result may potentially occur via local access when attack requirements are present without special internal knowledge and requires active user interaction. The potential vulnerability may impact the confidentiality (high), integrity (high) and availability (high) of the vulnerable system, resulting in subsequent system confidentiality (none), integrity (none) and availability (none) impacts.

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 an uncontrolled search path vulnerability (DLL hijacking) in Intel Killer Performance Suite user-mode software. An authenticated attacker with local access can place malicious DLLs in a location the application searches, potentially achieving privilege escalation when the application loads them with elevated privileges.

MitigationUpdate Intel Killer Performance Suite to version killer 4.0 40.25.509.1465 or later to remediate the uncontrolled search path 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. Confirm Intel Killer Performance Suite is installed
    Open Programs and Features (appwiz.cpl) or check Program Files folder for 'Killer' or 'Intel Killer Performance Suite' entry
    Affected if The application appears in installed programs list with a version lower than 40.25.509.1465
  2. Retrieve installed version number
    Right-click the Killer application in Programs and Features, select Properties, then check the Details tab for the Version field; or run: powershell Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*' | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like '*Killer*'} | Select-Object DisplayName, DisplayVersion
    Affected if Version displayed is earlier than 40.25.509.1465 or version cannot be determined (unknown vulnerable version)
  3. Check if Killer service runs with elevated privileges
    Open Services (services.msc), locate Intel Killer Performance Suite service, right-click and select Properties; verify the 'Log on as' setting shows SYSTEM or a privileged account, or run: sc qc KillerServiceName (replace with actual service name if discovered)
    Affected if Service runs under SYSTEM, Local System, or another privileged account with elevated rights
  4. Verify application is set to auto-start with Windows
    Check Task Manager > Startup tab for Killer entries; or run: reg query 'HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run' /v '*Killer*' ; also check HKCU\...\Run for user-level autostart
    Affected if Application is configured to start automatically with Windows (enables persistent privilege escalation opportunity)
  5. Inspect DLL search path locations
    Check common writable directories where a user could place a malicious DLL (user profile folders, temp directories, application directory under Program Files)
    Affected if Application executable directory or searchable paths are writable by low-privileged users, allowing DLL injection

Your environment is affected if Intel Killer Performance Suite is installed with a version before 40.25.509.1465 and the application or its service runs with elevated (administrator/SYSTEM) privileges.

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 Killer Performance Suite to version killer 4.0 40.25.509.1465 or later to remediate the uncontrolled search path vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

Killer Performance Suite version 40.25.509.1465 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current version of Intel Killer Performance Suite installed on the system via Windows Settings > Apps > Installed Apps or Programs and Features
  2. 2. Navigate to the official Intel support or Intel Killer support website to download the latest version
  3. 3. Download Killer Performance Suite version 40.25.509.1465 or later
  4. 4. Close any running Killer-related applications before installation
  5. 5. Run the installer with administrative privileges and follow the on-screen prompts to complete the update
  6. 6. Restart the system if prompted to ensure all components are properly updated
  7. 7. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds 40.25.509.1465

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
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-24491 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2025-24491 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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