CVE-2024-21809
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in Intel Quartus Prime Lite Edition Design software allows authenticated users to potentially escalate privileges via local access. It affects users running versions before 23.1 who have authenticated access to systems with this software installed. The improper conditions check could enable users to gain higher privileges than intended.
💻 Affected Systems
- Intel Quartus Prime Lite Edition Design Software
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
An authenticated attacker could gain administrative/root privileges on the system, potentially compromising the entire host and any connected systems or data.
Likely Case
An authenticated user with legitimate access could exploit this to gain elevated privileges for unauthorized actions within the software or system.
If Mitigated
With proper access controls and least privilege principles, the impact would be limited to the specific user's scope of access.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires authenticated access and local execution. No public exploit code has been disclosed as of the advisory.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 23.1 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/security-center/advisory/intel-sa-01055.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download Quartus Prime Lite Edition version 23.1 or later from Intel's website. 2. Uninstall the vulnerable version. 3. Install the updated version. 4. Restart the system to ensure all components are properly loaded.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict User Access
allLimit access to Quartus Prime software to only necessary users with minimal privileges.
Application Whitelisting
allImplement application control to restrict execution of Quartus Prime to authorized systems only.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict access controls and least privilege principles for all users with Quartus Prime access.
- Monitor systems for unusual privilege escalation attempts and review user activity logs regularly.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check the Quartus Prime version by launching the software and viewing 'Help > About Quartus Prime' or checking the installation directory for version information.Check Version:
On Windows: Check program files\intelFPGA_lite\[version] directory. On Linux: Check /opt/intelFPGA_lite/[version] directory or run 'quartus --version' if in PATH.Verify Fix Applied:
Verify the installed version is 23.1 or later using the same method as checking vulnerability.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual privilege escalation attempts in system logs
- Multiple failed privilege elevation attempts from Quartus Prime processes
Network Indicators:
- Local privilege escalation typically doesn't generate network traffic unless post-exploitation actions occur
SIEM Query:
Process creation events where parent process is Quartus Prime executable with elevated privileges or unusual command-line arguments