CVE-2020-24448 in Graphics Drivers
Summary
by MITRE • 02/17/2021
Uncaught exception in some Intel(R) Graphics Drivers before version 15.33.51.5146 may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable denial of service via local access.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/02/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-24448 represents a critical flaw in Intel Graphics Drivers that affects systems running versions prior to 15.33.51.5146. This issue manifests as an uncaught exception within the graphics driver component, creating a potential denial of service condition that can be exploited by authenticated local users. The vulnerability resides in the driver's error handling mechanisms where specific input conditions are not properly managed, leading to abrupt system termination or service disruption.
The technical nature of this flaw falls under the category of improper exception handling, which is classified as CWE-248 in the Common Weakness Enumeration catalog. This weakness occurs when a program does not properly handle exceptional conditions that arise during execution, resulting in program termination or unpredictable behavior. In the context of graphics drivers, such exceptions can occur when processing malformed or unexpected graphics commands, buffer operations, or hardware interaction sequences that the driver was not designed to handle gracefully.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant risk to system availability and stability. An authenticated user with local access can exploit this weakness to cause the graphics driver to crash or become unresponsive, effectively rendering the graphics functionality unavailable to all users. The impact extends beyond simple service disruption as the graphics driver is fundamental to system operation, particularly in enterprise environments where graphical interfaces are critical for administrative tasks and user productivity. The local access requirement means that the vulnerability cannot be exploited remotely, but it does represent a privilege escalation risk for users who already have system access.
The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under the T1499.004 technique for Network Denial of Service, as it can be leveraged to disrupt system functionality through driver-level manipulation. Additionally, the vulnerability aligns with T1566.001 for Initial Access through valid accounts, since exploitation requires authentication to the system. Organizations should consider this vulnerability as part of their broader security posture assessment, particularly in environments where privileged accounts are compromised or where insider threats exist.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate driver updates to version 15.33.51.5146 or later, which contain the necessary patches to address the uncaught exception handling issue. System administrators should implement comprehensive patch management procedures to ensure all graphics drivers are kept current with the latest security updates from Intel. Additionally, monitoring systems should be configured to detect unusual graphics driver behavior or frequent crashes that might indicate exploitation attempts. Network segmentation and least privilege access controls can help limit the potential impact of such vulnerabilities by reducing the number of authenticated users who can access systems with graphics drivers. Organizations should also consider implementing application whitelisting policies that restrict the execution of unauthorized graphics-related processes, which can help prevent exploitation through malicious software that attempts to trigger the vulnerable code paths.