# CVE-2022-37340: Privilege escalation in Intel(R) QAT drivers for Windows

> An authenticated local attacker can escalate privileges via an uncontrolled search path in Intel QAT Windows drivers.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/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:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 16 Feb 2023
- **Updated:** 27 Jan 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-jphj-xrhq-96vq

## What is CVE-2022-37340?

CVE-2022-37340 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Intel(R) QAT drivers for Windows, published on 16 Feb 2023. 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

Uncontrolled search path in some Intel(R) QAT drivers for Windows before version 1.6 may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access.

Weakness: CWE-427 (Uncontrolled Search Path Element)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-37340?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Intel Quickassist Technology.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-37340?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-37340 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-37340 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-37340 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Intel(R) QAT drivers for Windows

- [CVE-2026-20714](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20714/): Memory corruption in Intel(R) QAT software drivers for Windows (high 8.5)
- [CVE-2026-20767](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-20767/): Privilege escalation in Intel(R) QAT software drivers for Windows (high 8.5)
- [CVE-2022-21804](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-21804/): Memory corruption in Intel QAT Driver for Windows (high 8.4)
- [CVE-2022-41699](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-41699/): Privilege escalation in Intel(R) QAT drivers for Windows (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2023-28741](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-28741/): Memory corruption in Intel(R) QAT drivers for Windows - HW Version 1.0 (high 7.9)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-37340 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-37340 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Intel(R) QAT drivers for Windows, published on 16 Feb 2023. 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-2022-37340 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Intel(R) QAT drivers for Windows. 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-2022-37340/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-37340/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-37340
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-37340
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-37340

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-37340/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.