Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2022-21139 is a high-severity weakness in some Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi products. The issue involves inadequate encryption strength and could let an unauthenticated nearby attacker escalate privileges. This is most relevant to laptops and workstations using affected Intel wireless software.
Executive priority
Treat as a high-priority endpoint remediation item, not a perimeter emergency. Focus on version discovery, vendor-guided updates, and mobile workforce exposure where adjacent attackers are more plausible.
Technical view
The CVE maps to CWE-326 and carries CVSS 3.1 score 8.8 with adjacent attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, and no user interaction. The provided record says successful exploitation can affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability, but does not enumerate affected versions in the bundle.
Likely exposure
Exposure is likely on managed endpoints using Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi products, especially mobile devices operating near untrusted wireless environments. The source bundle does not list exact affected versions, so version matching depends on Intel advisory review.
Exploitation context
The CVE is not listed as CISA KEV in the provided bundle, and no cited source here confirms active exploitation. The attack vector is adjacent access, so risk depends on attacker proximity to the target wireless environment rather than direct internet exposure.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports a high-impact adjacent-access privilege-escalation issue tied to inadequate encryption strength. The provided bundle lacks exploit details, affected version ranges, and patch specifics, so validation should remain anchored to Intel advisory INTEL-SA-00621 and local software inventory.
Mitigation direction
- Review Intel advisory INTEL-SA-00621 for affected versions and vendor guidance.
- Inventory endpoints running Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi products.
- Prioritize remediation for mobile users and high-value endpoint groups.
- Avoid treating this as internet-facing exposure without additional evidence.
- Track vendor updates through endpoint management tooling.
Validation and detection
- Identify installed Intel wireless software and driver package versions.
- Compare discovered versions against Intel advisory INTEL-SA-00621.
- Confirm whether affected endpoints have wireless hardware enabled.
- Check endpoint management records for remediation coverage.
- Document exceptions where vendor guidance is unavailable or unclear.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-326: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2022-21139 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 8.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H2.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/security-center/advisory/intel-sa-00621.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Inadequate Encryption Strength
Inadequate Encryption Strength represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.