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Quickassist TechnologyApplication · Intel

CVE-2025-26694

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-11-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.6.0-0018 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

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
Null pointer dereference for some Intel(R) QAT Windows software before version 2.6.0. within Ring 3: User Applications may allow a denial of service. System software adversary with an authenticated user combined with a low complexity attack may enable denial of service. This result may potentially occur via local access when attack requirements are not present without special internal knowledge and requires no user interaction. The potential vulnerability may impact the confidentiality (none), integrity (none) 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 · moderate confidence

A null pointer dereference vulnerability in Intel QAT Windows software before version 2.6.0 allows an authenticated local user to trigger a denial of service via the Ring 3 (user application) component. The attack requires low complexity, local access, no user interaction, and no special internal knowledge.

MitigationUpgrade Intel QAT Windows software to version 2.6.0 or later to resolve the null pointer dereference vulnerability.

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
Quickassist TechnologyApplication
Affected:< 2.6.0-0018

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
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 if Intel QAT software is installed
    Open Windows Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Intel\QAT or check Add/Remove Programs for Intel Quickassist Technology entries
    Affected if No Intel QAT software is found in the registry or installed programs list
  2. Identify the Intel QAT version
    Check the version value in the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Intel\QAT, or right-click the QAT driver file (typically qat.sys or qat_driver.inf in C:\Windows\System32\drivers) and select Properties > Details to view the File Version
    Affected if The version cannot be determined or is not visible in these locations
  3. Compare installed version against 2.6.0-0018
    Compare the found version string to the affected range. Note that version 2.6.0-0018 and later are patched; versions below 2.6.0-0018 are vulnerable
    Affected if The installed version is numerically less than 2.6.0-0018 (for example, 2.5.x, 2.4.x, or earlier)
  4. Verify the QAT driver is loaded
    Open Device Manager, expand the System devices or Storage controllers section, and look for Intel Quickassist Technology driver entries. Also run 'sc query qat' in Command Prompt to check if the QAT service exists and is running
    Affected if The Intel QAT driver or service is present and running on the system

The system is affected if Intel QAT software is installed with a version lower than 2.6.0-0018 and the QAT driver component is loaded and operational.

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 2.6.0-0018 or later
Fixed in 2.6.0-0018
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Intel QAT Windows software to version 2.6.0 or later to resolve the null pointer dereference vulnerability.

Recommended fix High confidence

2.6.0-0018 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current installed version of Intel(R) Quickassist Technology on the Windows system
  2. 2. Download Intel Quickassist Technology version 2.6.0-0018 or later from the official Intel website or Intel Download Center
  3. 3. Stop any running QAT services or applications using the Quickassist Technology
  4. 4. Uninstall the current version of Intel Quickassist Technology if required by the installer
  5. 5. Install the updated version 2.6.0-0018 or later
  6. 6. Restart the system or re-start the QAT services
  7. 7. Verify the installed version matches or exceeds 2.6.0-0018

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

Fix this in Quickassist Technology 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 the upgrade done

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

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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-2025-26694 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