CVE-2017-5688 in Solid State Drive Toolbox
Summary
by MITRE
There is an escalation of privilege vulnerability in the Intel Solid State Drive Toolbox versions before 3.4.5 which allow a local administrative attacker to load and execute arbitrary code.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/13/2019
The CVE-2017-5688 vulnerability represents a critical privilege escalation flaw within Intel Solid State Drive Toolbox software versions prior to 3.4.5. This vulnerability exists in the Windows-based management utility that allows users to configure and monitor Intel solid state drives. The flaw specifically enables a local administrative attacker to escalate their privileges and execute arbitrary code on the target system. The vulnerability stems from improper input validation and insufficient privilege checks within the software's installation and execution processes. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability can leverage the elevated privileges granted by the administrative account to gain system-level access and execute malicious payloads without requiring additional authentication or authorization mechanisms. This creates a significant security risk for systems running affected versions of the Intel SSD Toolbox software.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the software's failure to properly validate and sanitize input parameters during the installation and execution phases. When the Intel SSD Toolbox processes user inputs or configuration parameters, it does not adequately verify the legitimacy of these inputs before granting elevated privileges. This allows an attacker with administrative access to manipulate the software's behavior and inject malicious code that will execute with system-level privileges. The vulnerability is classified as a privilege escalation issue under the Common Weakness Enumeration framework, specifically mapping to CWE-264, which deals with permissions, privileges, and access controls. The flaw demonstrates poor security practices in software design and implementation, particularly concerning the principle of least privilege enforcement.
The operational impact of CVE-2017-5688 extends beyond simple code execution capabilities as it fundamentally undermines the security posture of systems running vulnerable software versions. Once exploited, attackers can gain complete control over the affected system, potentially leading to data exfiltration, persistence mechanisms, and further network infiltration. The vulnerability affects organizations that rely on Intel SSD Toolbox for drive management and monitoring, creating potential attack vectors for advanced persistent threats and insider attacks. Systems where administrative accounts are commonly used or where the software is deployed across multiple endpoints become particularly vulnerable. The impact is exacerbated by the fact that the exploit requires only local administrative access, making it accessible to users who already have elevated privileges within the network environment. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068, which covers local privilege escalation, and T1059, covering command and scripting interpreter usage.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2017-5688 primarily focus on immediate software updates and operational security measures. Organizations should immediately upgrade to Intel SSD Toolbox version 3.4.5 or later, which contains the necessary patches to address the privilege escalation vulnerability. System administrators should also implement strict access controls and privilege management policies, ensuring that administrative accounts are only used when necessary and that least privilege principles are enforced. Additional defensive measures include monitoring for unauthorized installations of the Intel SSD Toolbox software and implementing application whitelisting policies to prevent execution of untrusted code. Network segmentation and endpoint detection and response solutions can help identify potential exploitation attempts. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify other potentially vulnerable software components within the organization's infrastructure. The vulnerability highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date software and proper security hygiene practices to prevent exploitation of known security flaws.