CVE-2022-26024 - Escalation of Privilege Vulnerability in Intel(R) NUC HDMI Firmware Update Tool

A recent security vulnerability has been identified in the Intel(R) NUC HDMI Firmware Update Tool for NUC7i3DN, NUC7i5DN, and NUC7i7DN systems. The vulnerability, tagged as CVE-2022-26024, affects the tool's access controls that may potentially enable an authenticated user to escalate their privileges via local access. This post will provide an in-depth review of this vulnerability, including code snippets, references, and exploit details.

Vulnerability Overview

CVE-2022-26024 is related to improper access control implementation in the Intel(R) NUC HDMI Firmware Update Tool for specific systems before version 1.78.2..7. When exploited, it allows an authenticated user with local access to potentially escalate their privileges and perform unauthorized actions on the targeted system.

NUC7i7DN

Only the versions of the HDMI Firmware Update Tool before 1.78.2..7 are affected.

Exploit Details

The exploit leverages improper access control in the Intel(R) NUC HDMI Firmware Update Tool. By exploiting this vulnerability, an attacker with local access can escalate their privileges and perform unauthorized actions on the targeted system.

To illustrate how this vulnerability could be exploited in a real-world scenario, let's take a look at the following code snippet:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <unistd.h>

int main(void) {
    printf("Attempting to escalate privileges...\n");

    setuid();
    setgid();

    if (access("vulnerable_tool", F_OK) != -1) {
        printf("Vulnerable tool found, triggering exploit...\n");
        system("vulnerable_tool firmware-update.bin");
        printf("Privilege escalation successful!");
    } else {
        printf("Vulnerable tool not found...\n");
    }

    return ;
}

In this code snippet, the attacker creates a simple C program that attempts to escalate privileges. The attacker then checks if the vulnerable tool is present on the system and proceeds to trigger the exploit by executing the firmware-update command with the vulnerable tool.

To read more about this vulnerability, please refer to the following links

1. Intel Security Advisory: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/security-center/advisory/intel-sa-00485.html
2. CVE-2022-26024 Details: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-26024

Mitigation

Intel has provided updated versions of the Intel(R) NUC HDMI Firmware Update Tool for affected systems. If you are using an affected system, it is highly recommended that you upgrade the tool to version 1.78.2..7 or later.

Conclusion

CVE-2022-26024 highlights the importance of having proper access controls in software tools, especially those that interact with sensitive hardware components like firmware. The vulnerability could allow an attacker to perform unauthorized actions on the targeted system. It is crucial to keep your system updated and install patches provided by manufacturers to protect against such vulnerabilities.

Remember to stay vigilant and protect your systems by keeping them updated!

Timeline

Published on: 11/11/2022 16:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 11/17/2022 15:45:00 UTC