Actively exploited vulnerability
Intel Ethernet Diagnostics Driver for Windows: denial of service flaw under attack
CVE-2015-2291 · Intel Ethernet Diagnostics Driver for Windows Denial-of-Service Vulnerability
What is affected
Intel Ethernet Diagnostics Driver for Windows is found on ordinary personal computers and phones, so this is not only a problem for companies. If you use it and have not updated since the fix was released, you are exposed.
Intel ethernet diagnostics driver for Windows IQVW32.sys and IQVW64.sys contain an unspecified vulnerability that allows for a denial-of-service (DoS).
What an attacker can do
This is a denial of service flaw. It lets an attacker crash the product or make it unavailable to the people who rely on it.
- How it is reached
- Needs access to the device or a file opened on it
- Access the attacker needs
- A basic user account
- Does the victim have to do something?
- No, works without the victim doing anything
CISA records this vulnerability as known to be used in ransomware campaigns: attackers use it to get in, then encrypt files and demand payment.
What to do
- Update Intel Ethernet Diagnostics Driver for Windows now. Open the update or "About" screen, install whatever is offered and restart the app or device, because the fix is not active until you do.
- Turn on automatic updates so the next fix arrives without you having to look for it.
- If your device is too old to receive this update, stop using the affected app for anything sensitive and plan a replacement.
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Vendor advisories and fixes
- intel.comwww.intel.com/content/www/us/en/security-center/advisory/intel-sa-00051.html
How urgent is it
CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on February 10, 2023, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by March 3, 2023, a deadline that has already passed. That deadline does not bind anyone else, but it shows how seriously the agency rates it.
The EPSS model estimates a 9.0% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 95% of all scored vulnerabilities.
Its CVSS severity score is 7.8 out of 10 (high), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.
Technical description
(1) IQVW32.sys before 1.3.1.0 and (2) IQVW64.sys before 1.3.1.0 in the Intel Ethernet diagnostics driver for Windows allows local users to cause a denial of service or possibly execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges via a crafted (a) 0x80862013, (b) 0x8086200B, (c) 0x8086200F, or (d) 0x80862007 IOCTL call.