CVE-2023-49141
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in Intel processors' stream cache mechanism allows an authenticated local attacker to potentially escalate privileges by exploiting improper isolation. It affects systems with specific Intel CPUs, requiring physical or remote authenticated access to the vulnerable system.
💻 Affected Systems
- Intel Core processors (specific generations)
- Intel Xeon processors (specific generations)
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
An authenticated attacker gains full system control (root/admin) by exploiting the hardware flaw to bypass security boundaries.
Likely Case
Privileged users or malware with local access escalate privileges to compromise other processes or the operating system kernel.
If Mitigated
With proper access controls and patching, impact is limited to denial of service or information leakage at most.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires deep understanding of CPU architecture and memory management. No public exploits known.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Microcode updates - version varies by CPU
Vendor Advisory: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/security-center/advisory/intel-sa-01046.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Check Intel advisory for affected CPU models. 2. Obtain microcode update from system/OS vendor. 3. Apply BIOS/UEFI firmware update containing microcode patch. 4. Reboot system.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable hyper-threading/SMT
allReduces attack surface by disabling simultaneous multithreading
Linux: Add 'nosmt' to kernel boot parameters
Windows: Use bcdedit to disable hyper-threading
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict local access to trusted users only
- Implement strict privilege separation and least privilege principles
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check CPU microcode version against Intel's patched versions. Linux: 'cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep microcode'Check Version:
Linux: 'cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep -E "model|stepping|microcode"' Windows: 'wmic cpu get caption,stepping'Verify Fix Applied:
Verify microcode version matches patched version from Intel advisory. Check BIOS/UEFI firmware version.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual privilege escalation attempts
- Suspicious CPU/memory access patterns
Network Indicators:
- None - local attack only
SIEM Query:
Search for unexpected privilege changes or kernel module loading from user processes