CVE-2022-32576 - Uncontrolled Search Path in Intel Unite Plugin SDK: Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

Security researchers have recently discovered a vulnerability in Intel Unite Plugin SDK prior to version 4.2, allowing a potential escalation of privilege via local access. This vulnerability has been assigned the CVE identifier "CVE-2022-32576" and primarily affects Intel Unite Plugin SDK before version 4.2. This blog post will discuss the details of the vulnerability, provide code snippets to showcase the issue and suggest mitigation steps. Links to the original references are also provided for further reading.

Description

The vulnerability stems from an uncontrolled search path element in the Intel Unite Plugin SDK before version 4.2. This issue could potentially allow an authenticated user to exploit this weakness and enable a local privilege escalation.

When an application searches for a specific file or library within the search directories, it may not always find the desired resource in the first directory on the list. This is known as a search path vulnerability. In this case, CVE-2022-32576 occurs due to a weakly configured search path within the Intel(R) Unite(R) Plugin SDK.

Exploit Details

To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need local access to the system and authentication, meaning they would need valid credentials and a local user account. Upon successful authentication, the attacker can manipulate the search path and place a malicious file in one of the search directories, eventually leading to the execution of the malicious code with elevated privileges.

For illustrative purposes, consider the following code snippet that searches for a resource within the search directories:

import os

search_path = os.environ.get("PATH").split(os.pathsep)
resource_name = "vulnerable_library.dll"

for directory in search_path:
    full_path = os.path.join(directory, resource_name)
    if os.path.isfile(full_path):
        print(f"Found {resource_name} at {full_path}")
        break
else:
    print(f"{resource_name} not found")

The malicious attacker can place a file named vulnerable_library.dll in one of the search directories, which will be inadvertently picked up and executed when the script runs. This can lead to a potentially dangerous local privilege escalation situation.

For more information on this vulnerability, you can refer to the following resources

1. Official Intel Security Advisory: INTEL-SA-00710
2. CVE Details: CVE-2022-32576

Mitigation

To mitigate this vulnerability, it is recommended to update the Intel Unite Plugin SDK to version 4.2 or later. This version fixes the uncontrolled search path vulnerability. You can download the updated SDK from Intel's website:

Download Intel Unite Plugin SDK 4.2 or later

In addition to updating the SDK, it is always a good practice to restrict access to sensitive directories and ensure that only trusted users have the necessary permissions. This includes proper access control and authentication mechanisms to avoid unauthorized access to the system.

Conclusion

CVE-2022-32576 is a critical vulnerability that could lead to local privilege escalation when exploited by an attacker with local access to the affected system. By updating the Intel Unite Plugin SDK and following best security practices for access control, system administrators and developers can minimize the risk associated with this vulnerability. Stay vigilant and keep your systems up to date to protect against security threats!

Timeline

Published on: 05/10/2023 14:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 05/22/2023 14:11:00 UTC