CVE-2023-40070
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in Intel Power Gadget for macOS allows authenticated local users to escalate privileges due to improper access control. Attackers could gain elevated system permissions by exploiting this flaw. Only macOS systems with Intel Power Gadget installed are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Intel Power Gadget
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
An authenticated attacker gains root privileges on the macOS system, enabling complete system compromise, data theft, and persistence.
Likely Case
Malicious local users or malware with user-level access escalate to administrative privileges to install additional malware or modify system configurations.
If Mitigated
With proper privilege separation and least privilege principles, impact is limited to the compromised user account only.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires local authenticated access. The vulnerability is in access control mechanisms, making exploitation relatively straightforward for attackers with user access.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Intel recommends removing Intel Power Gadget entirely as no patched version is available
Vendor Advisory: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/security-center/advisory/intel-sa-01037.html
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Uninstall Intel Power Gadget from macOS systems. 2. Verify removal by checking Applications folder and system processes. 3. Consider alternative power monitoring tools if needed.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Remove Intel Power Gadget
macOSUninstall the vulnerable software to eliminate the attack surface
sudo rm -rf /Applications/Intel\ Power\ Gadget.app
sudo rm -rf /Library/Application\ Support/Intel/Power\ Gadget
Restrict execution permissions
macOSRemove execute permissions from Intel Power Gadget binaries
sudo chmod -x /Applications/Intel\ Power\ Gadget.app/Contents/MacOS/Intel\ Power\ Gadget
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict least privilege principles to limit user access
- Monitor for privilege escalation attempts and unusual process behavior
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if Intel Power Gadget is installed: ls /Applications/ | grep -i 'intel power gadget'Check Version:
Not applicable as all versions are vulnerableVerify Fix Applied:
Verify Intel Power Gadget is not present in Applications folder and no related processes are running: ps aux | grep -i 'power'📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual privilege escalation attempts
- Intel Power Gadget process execution with elevated privileges
- Failed authorization attempts for power management functions
Network Indicators:
- None - this is a local privilege escalation vulnerability
SIEM Query:
process.name:"Intel Power Gadget" AND event.action:"privilege_escalation"