CVE-2022-21794

Local privilege escalation via undisclosed BIOS authentication flaw

Published Nov 11, 2022 · Updated Feb 5, 2025

Improper authentication in Intel NUC BIOS firmware before HN0067 allows local users with elevated privileges to escalate privileges. Intel identifies BIOS authentication as the affected locus but has not disclosed which check accepts an unauthorized operation. Exploitation requires high local privileges and user interaction, and the resulting escalation crosses a BIOS security boundary.

CVSS severity7.7
High
EPSS probability0.19%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Improper authentication in Intel NUC BIOS firmware before HN0067 allows local users with elevated privileges to escalate privileges. Intel identifies BIOS authentication as the affected locus but has not disclosed which check accepts an unauthorized operation. Exploitation requires high local privileges and user interaction, and the resulting escalation crosses a BIOS security boundary.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-21794
Published
Nov 11, 2022
Updated
Feb 5, 2025
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-287
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Nov 11, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 5, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.7Intel CorporationCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
6.7NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-287Improper Authentication

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo