CVE-2022-33898

Local privilege escalation via inherited installer permissions

Published Nov 14, 2023 · Updated Aug 30, 2024

Insecure inherited permissions in Intel NUC Watchdog Timer Utility before 2.0.21.0 allow local users to escalate privileges. The installer permits critical installed resources to inherit insufficiently restrictive permissions, but Intel has not identified the affected resources or published the permission sequence. Exploitation requires authenticated local access and user interaction; Intel reports privilege escalation but does not disclose the resulting privilege level.

CVSS severity6.7
Medium
EPSS probability0.17%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Insecure inherited permissions in Intel NUC Watchdog Timer Utility before 2.0.21.0 allow local users to escalate privileges. The installer permits critical installed resources to inherit insufficiently restrictive permissions, but Intel has not identified the affected resources or published the permission sequence. Exploitation requires authenticated local access and user interaction; Intel reports privilege escalation but does not disclose the resulting privilege level.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-33898
Published
Nov 14, 2023
Updated
Aug 30, 2024
Vendor
Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc.
Product
Intel NUC Watchdog Timer Utility
Classifications
CWE-732, CWE-277, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Nov 14, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 30, 2024Record 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=before version 2.0.21.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc. · Intel NUC Watchdog Timer Utilityversion=before version 2.0.21.0

Published CVSS scores

7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
6.7Intel CorporationCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/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 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 exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-732Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource
CWE-277Insecure Inherited Permissions
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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

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Your stack

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