Overview
The cybersecurity landscape is a continuously evolving ecosystem, and a recent vulnerability identified in Intel’s 800 Series Ethernet is a stark reminder of this fact. This article discusses the CVE-2025-22836, a significant vulnerability found in the Linux kernel-mode driver for some Intel(R) 800 Series Ethernet devices. This weakness could potentially enable an authenticated user to escalate privileges via local access, paving the way for system compromise or data leakage. The impact of this vulnerability is considerable, given the widespread usage of Intel Ethernet devices in various systems worldwide.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-22836
Severity: High (CVSS: 7.8)
Attack Vector: Local
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: Required
Impact: Potential system compromise and data leakage
Affected Products
Escape the Surveillance Era
Most apps won’t tell you the truth.
They’re part of the problem.
Phone numbers. Emails. Profiles. Logs.
It’s all fuel for surveillance.
Ameeba Chat gives you a way out.
- • No phone number
- • No email
- • No personal info
- • Anonymous aliases
- • End-to-end encrypted
Chat without a trace.
Product | Affected Versions
Intel(R) 800 Series Ethernet | Before 1.17.2
How the Exploit Works
This vulnerability is an instance of an integer overflow or wraparound in the Linux kernel-mode driver for some Intel(R) 800 Series Ethernet devices. In essence, this means that an attacker, once authenticated, can manipulate the driver’s computations by causing an integer to overflow or wraparound. This results in unexpected values that could potentially be used to enable escalation of privileges. The immediate consequence of successful exploitation is unauthorized access at elevated privileges, leading to potential system compromise or data leakage.
Conceptual Example Code
Here is a conceptual example of how the vulnerability could be exploited. Please note that this is an oversimplified representation meant to illustrate the vulnerability, and actual exploits may vary significantly in their complexity.
$ echo "exploit_code" > /dev/intel_ethernet
$ chmod +s /dev/intel_ethernet
$ ./dev/intel_ethernetIn this scenario, an attacker writes an exploit code to the device file for the Intel Ethernet driver. The ‘chmod’ command is used to set the SUID bit, allowing the exploit code to run with the same permissions as the owner of the file, potentially escalating the attacker’s privileges if the file owner has higher privileges.
Countermeasures and Mitigation
As a response to this vulnerability, users are strongly advised to apply the vendor patch to prevent potential exploitation. Intel has released a patch for this vulnerability in the 1.17.2 version of the driver. If immediate patching is not possible, employing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) could serve as a temporary mitigation measure, although this does not eliminate the vulnerability. These tools can help detect and block attempts to exploit this vulnerability.
As a best practice, regular security audits and updates are recommended to ensure the safety and integrity of your systems.
