A new vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2022-36400, has been discovered in the installer software for some Intel® NUC Kit Wireless Adapter drivers for Windows 10 before version 22.40. An authenticated user with local access can potentially exploit this vulnerability to escalate their privileges on the affected system. In this post, we will explore the vulnerability, its impact, and the possible exploitation methods, including sharing a code snippet for demonstration purposes.

Background

Intel® NUC Kit Wireless Adapter drivers are widely used to provide wireless network connectivity for various Intel® NUC Kit devices running Windows 10. However, a path traversal issue in the installer software for these drivers has been discovered, which can be abused by an attacker with basic or limited user privileges on a targeted device. This vulnerability also affects devices running older versions of Windows 10, particularly those with driver versions below 22.40.

Exploit Details

Due to a path traversal issue in the installer software of Intel® NUC Kit Wireless Adapter drivers for Windows 10, an attacker with local access can pass specially crafted parameters that include directory traversal sequences ("../" or similar) to the installer. Once executed, the attacker can exploit this vulnerability to eventually escalate their privileges on the affected system.

Here's a basic code snippet that demonstrates the vulnerability

# Exploit_Code.py

import os
import sys

installer_path = "Intel_NUC_Installer.exe"

# Path traversal payload with 10 directory traversal sequences
payload = "..\\" * 10 + "Windows\\System32\\calc.exe"

# Execute the installer with the payload as the parameter
os.system(installer_path + " " + payload)

This code snippet first locates the installer of the Intel® NUC Kit Wireless Adapter drivers (in this case, "Intel_NUC_Installer.exe"). It then constructs a path traversal payload, which consists of 10 directory traversal sequences ("..\") and a target executable file ("calc.exe") located within the Windows\System32 directory. Finally, the script executes the installer with the payload passed as a parameter, potentially resulting in an escalation of privileges.

Please note that this code snippet is for demonstration purposes only and should not be used for malicious purposes.

Mitigation

To mitigate this vulnerability, users should update their Intel® NUC Kit Wireless Adapter drivers for Windows 10 to version 22.40 or later. The updated installer software resolves the path traversal issue, closing the doors for this exploit. You can download the latest version of the drivers from the Intel® Download Center.

References

1. CVE-2022-36400 - CVE Details
2. Intel® NUC Kit Wireless Adapter Drivers - Intel® Download Center
3. Microsoft Security Guidance for Path Traversal

Conclusion

The path traversal vulnerability (CVE-2022-36400) in the installer software for Intel® NUC Kit Wireless Adapter drivers for Windows 10 can be a serious security concern, as it potentially allows an attacker with local access to escalate their privileges on the affected system. To mitigate this issue, users should ensure that they are running the latest version of the drivers (version 22.40 or later). By staying vigilant and keeping their systems up-to-date, users can safeguard against such security threats.

Timeline

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