CVE-2023-28738

Local privilege escalation via undisclosed input validation flaw

Published Jan 19, 2024 · Updated Oct 21, 2024

Improper input validation in Intel NUC BIOS firmware before JY0070 allows local users with existing privileges to escalate privileges. Intel has not disclosed the affected firmware component, the accepted input, or the validation operation that mishandles it. Exploitation requires privileged local access to an affected NUC, and successful exploitation crosses a security boundary with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.

CVSS severity7.5
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

Improper input validation in Intel NUC BIOS firmware before JY0070 allows local users with existing privileges to escalate privileges. Intel has not disclosed the affected firmware component, the accepted input, or the validation operation that mishandles it. Exploitation requires privileged local access to an affected NUC, and successful exploitation crosses a security boundary with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-28738
Published
Jan 19, 2024
Updated
Oct 21, 2024
Vendor
Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc.
Product
Intel NUC BIOS Firmware
Classifications
CWE-20, CWE-116, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 19, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 21, 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=0 <JY0070
  2. Affected versionversion=before version JY0070

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc. · Intel NUC BIOS Firmwareversion=0 <JY0070; version=before version JY0070

Published CVSS scores

7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.5Intel CorporationCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/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
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-20Improper Input Validation
CWE-116Improper Encoding or Escaping of Output
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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