# CVE-2021-0121: Privilege escalation in Intel(R) Iris(R) Xe MAX Dedicated Graphics Drivers for Windows 10

> An authenticated local attacker can escalate privileges due to improper access control in the Intel Iris Xe MAX graphics driver installer.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 17 Nov 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-693p-74cq-565g

## What is CVE-2021-0121?

CVE-2021-0121 is a high-severity vulnerability in Intel(R) Iris(R) Xe MAX Dedicated Graphics Drivers for Windows 10, published on 17 Nov 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Improper access control in the installer for some Intel(R) Iris(R) Xe MAX Dedicated Graphics Drivers for Windows 10 before version 27.20.100.9466 may allow authenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-0121?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Intel Iris Xe Max Dedicated Graphics.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-0121?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-0121 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-0121 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-0121 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Intel(R) Iris(R) Xe MAX Dedicated Graphics Drivers for Windows 10

- [CVE-2022-30531](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-30531/): Information disclosure in Intel(R) Iris(R) Xe MAX drivers for Windows (medium 4.4)
- [CVE-2022-34849](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-34849/): Denial of service in Intel(R) Iris(R) Xe MAX drivers for Windows (medium 4.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-0121 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-0121 is a high-severity vulnerability in Intel(R) Iris(R) Xe MAX Dedicated Graphics Drivers for Windows 10, published on 17 Nov 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-0121 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Intel(R) Iris(R) Xe MAX Dedicated Graphics Drivers for Windows 10. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-0121/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-0121/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-0121
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-0121
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-0121

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-0121/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.