# CVE-2022-21794: Auth bypass in Intel(R) NUC Boards, Intel(R) NUC Business, Intel(R) NUC Enthusiast, Intel(R) NUC Kits

> A privileged local user can escalate privileges due to improper authentication in Intel NUC BIOS firmware.

- **Severity:** High 7.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 11 Nov 2022
- **Updated:** 5 Feb 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-2w6f-57rm-7cf8

## What is CVE-2022-21794?

CVE-2022-21794 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Intel(R) NUC Boards, Intel(R) NUC Business, Intel(R) NUC Enthusiast, Intel(R) NUC Kits, published on 11 Nov 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Improper authentication in BIOS firmware for some Intel(R) NUC Boards, Intel(R) NUC Business, Intel(R) NUC Enthusiast, Intel(R) NUC Kits before version HN0067 may allow a privileged user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access.

Weakness: CWE-287 (Improper Authentication)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-21794?

It affects 5 products.


Products: Intel Nuc 8 Business Nuc8i7hnkqc Firmware, Intel Nuc 8 Enthusiast Nuc8i7hvkva Firmware, Intel Nuc 8 Enthusiast Nuc8i7hvkvaw Firmware, Intel Nuc Kit Nuc8i7hnk Firmware, Intel Nuc Kit Nuc8i7hvk Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-21794?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-21794 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-21794 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-21794 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-21794 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-21794 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Intel(R) NUC Boards, Intel(R) NUC Business, Intel(R) NUC Enthusiast, Intel(R) NUC Kits, published on 11 Nov 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-21794 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Intel(R) NUC Boards, Intel(R) NUC Business, Intel(R) NUC Enthusiast, Intel(R) NUC Kits. 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-2022-21794/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-21794/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-21794
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-21794
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-21794

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-21794/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.