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

CVE-2025-35969

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v4.0 Published 2026-05-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
54/100
Remediation priority · Moderate

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) Server Firmware Update Utility Software before version 16.0.12. within Ring 3: User Applications may allow an escalation of privilege. System 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 in Intel Server Firmware Update Utility Software versions before 16.0.12. The application loads Dynamic Link Libraries (DLLs) from an unprotected path, allowing an authenticated local attacker with high complexity to perform DLL hijacking and escalate privileges to potentially execute arbitrary code.

MitigationUpgrade Intel Server Firmware Update Utility to version 16.0.12 or later to remediate this 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
Authentication
X
User interaction
A
Scope
X

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:P/PR:L/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

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. Verify Intel Server Firmware Update Utility is installed
    Check program files or Intel firmware update directories for the presence of Intel Server Firmware Update Utility software
    Affected if The utility is present on the system
  2. Determine the installed version
    Locate the utility executable or version information file (such as a version resource, README, or installer log) and read the reported version number
    Affected if Version cannot be determined or is below 16.0.12
  3. Compare version to affected range
    Compare the installed version number to 16.0.12 using standard version comparison
    Affected if Installed version is lower than 16.0.12 (for example, 16.0.10, 15.x, or earlier)
  4. Confirm DLL loading behavior
    Observe or analyze the application startup process using process monitoring tools to verify if it loads DLLs from directories outside the application installation folder
    Affected if The application loads DLLs from user-writable or unprotected directories such as the current working directory or system PATH locations

A system is affected if Intel Server Firmware Update Utility is installed with a version lower than 16.0.12 and the application loads DLLs from unprotected paths.

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

Upgrade Intel Server Firmware Update Utility to version 16.0.12 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Intel Server Firmware Update Utility Software version 16.0.12

  1. Identify the current version of Intel(R) Server Firmware Update Utility Software installed on the system
  2. Navigate to the official Intel download page or support portal for Intel Server Firmware Update Utility Software
  3. Locate and download version 16.0.12 or later of the Intel Server Firmware Update Utility Software
  4. Verify the integrity of the downloaded package using provided checksums (if available)
  5. Close any running instances of the Server Firmware Update Utility
  6. Run the installer with appropriate administrative privileges
  7. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation
  8. Restart the system if prompted by the installer

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,150
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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-2025-35969 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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