CVE-2022-42455

SYSTEM privilege escalation via unrestricted MSR IOCTL

Published Feb 15, 2023 · Updated Mar 19, 2025

Privilege escalation in ASUS Armoury Crate Throttle Gear Merge Module 5.3.4.0 and earlier allows local users to gain SYSTEM privileges. Driver7.sys exposes arbitrary model-specific register reads and writes through IOCTL 0x9C40E414 without restricting the caller. Exploitation requires low-privileged local access and an ASUS system whose SMBIOS strings allow the driver to operate, after which kernel-level hardware access permits complete host compromise.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.16%
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 ASUS Armoury Crate Throttle Gear Merge Module 5.3.4.0 and earlier allows local users to gain SYSTEM privileges. Driver7.sys exposes arbitrary model-specific register reads and writes through IOCTL 0x9C40E414 without restricting the caller. Exploitation requires low-privileged local access and an ASUS system whose SMBIOS strings allow the driver to operate, after which kernel-level hardware access permits complete host compromise.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-42455
Published
Feb 15, 2023
Updated
Mar 19, 2025
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-269, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 15, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Mar 19, 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?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

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

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-269Improper Privilege Management
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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