Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2022-21807 is a local privilege escalation issue in Intel VTune Profiler before 2022.2.0. An attacker who already has a valid local account could potentially gain higher privileges on that system. This is mainly a risk for developer, performance engineering, or build machines where VTune is installed.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority endpoint hardening issue, especially in engineering environments. It does not appear to provide remote initial access, but it can increase damage from compromised local accounts on systems that may hold source code, credentials, or build artifacts.
Technical view
The vulnerability is classified as CWE-427, uncontrolled search path element. Intel VTune Profiler versions before 2022.2.0 may use unsafe search path behavior, allowing an authenticated local user to potentially escalate privileges. CVSS 3.1 is 7.8 with local access, low complexity, low privileges, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to systems running Intel VTune Profiler before version 2022.2.0. Likely locations include developer workstations, performance analysis hosts, and build or lab environments. Remote-only systems without VTune installed are not indicated as affected by the provided sources.
Exploitation context
The provided bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation. Exploitation requires authenticated local access, so this is not an unauthenticated remote entry point. The business concern is privilege escalation after an attacker or insider already has local access.
Researcher notes
Key constraints are local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, and no user interaction. The source bundle identifies the affected product and fixed threshold but does not provide implementation details, proof of concept, or active exploitation evidence. Avoid assuming impact beyond Intel VTune Profiler before 2022.2.0.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory systems for Intel VTune Profiler installations.
- Update Intel VTune Profiler to version 2022.2.0 or later.
- Prioritize developer and build systems with shared or broad local access.
- Review Intel advisory INTEL-SA-00658 for vendor-specific guidance.
- Remove unused VTune installations from production or sensitive hosts.
Validation and detection
- Confirm installed VTune Profiler versions on developer and build endpoints.
- Verify no systems remain below version 2022.2.0.
- Check software inventory, endpoint management, and golden images for stale VTune packages.
- Review local user access on systems where VTune remains installed.
- Document exceptions and compensating controls for any delayed upgrades.
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-427: 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-2022-21807 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
- 7.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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-00658.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.
Uncontrolled Search Path Element
Uncontrolled Search Path Element represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.