CVE-2021-3437Public exploit

Kernel privilege escalation via unrestricted driver IOCTLs

Published Nov 21, 2022 · Updated Apr 29, 2025

Privilege escalation in HP OMEN Gaming Hub SDK Package before 1.0.44 allows local users to execute code with kernel privileges. The HpPortIox64.sys driver exposes IOCTL handlers for I/O ports and model-specific registers through a device object without ACL enforcement, allowing low-privileged callers to overwrite the LSTAR system-call target. Local low-privileged access is required; exploitation grants SYSTEM-equivalent execution and also permits host crashes or disk corruption through privileged hardware operations.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability15.55%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Privilege escalation in HP OMEN Gaming Hub SDK Package before 1.0.44 allows local users to execute code with kernel privileges. The HpPortIox64.sys driver exposes IOCTL handlers for I/O ports and model-specific registers through a device object without ACL enforcement, allowing low-privileged callers to overwrite the LSTAR system-call target. Local low-privileged access is required; exploitation grants SYSTEM-equivalent execution and also permits host crashes or disk corruption through privileged hardware operations.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-3437
Published
Nov 21, 2022
Updated
Apr 29, 2025
Vendor
HP Inc.
Product
OMEN Gaming Hub SDK Package
Classifications
CWE-276, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Nov 21, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Apr 29, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=See HP Security Bulletin reference for affected versions.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

HP Inc. · OMEN Gaming Hub SDK Packageversion=See HP Security Bulletin reference for affected versions.

Published CVSS scores

9.8CISA-ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
9.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.8HP Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-276Incorrect Default Permissions
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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