CVE Intelligence
Medium

CVE-2022-21166 — Incomplete cleanup in specific special register write operations for some Intel(R)…

Incomplete cleanup in specific special register write operations for some Intel(R) Processors may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable information disclosure via local access.

Published Jun 15, 2022 · Updated Oct 14, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: intel

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 5.8% (30-day exploitation probability)+14
  • Technical severity (medium)+3

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
5.78%
ahead of 93% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026
Affects
Debian
Debian Linux and 6 more
CVSS base
5.5
Medium · 3 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
None
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Partial
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

  • Documented patch — www.openwall.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — www.intel.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Debian Debian Linux, Fedoraproject Fedora, Intel Sgx Dcap…).
  2. Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
  3. EPSS ahead of 93% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
  4. Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Debian Debian Linux version 9.0version 10.0version 11.0 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Fedoraproject Fedora version 36version 35 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Intel Sgx Dcap < 1.14.100.3 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Intel Sgx Psw < 2.17.100.3< 2.16.100.3 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Intel Sgx Sdk < 2.17.100.3< 2.16.100.3 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Vmware Esxi version 7.0-update_1dversion 7.0-update_2version 7.0-update_2aversion 7.0-update_2cversion 7.0-update_2dversion 7.0-update_3cversion 7.0-update_3dversion 7.0-update_1c
and 5 more version 7.0-update_1bversion 7.0-update_1aversion 7.0-update_1version 7.0-betaversion 7.0
Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Xen Xen versions not specified by the source Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
5.5 CVSS 3.1 Medium 1.8 3.6 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
5.5 CVSS 3.1 Medium 1.8 3.6 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 via NIST National Vulnerability Database
5.5 CVSS 3.1 Medium — — CISA-ADP via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
2.1 CVSS 2.0 Low 3.9 2.9 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-459

Other CVEs with this weakness →

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
endpoint telemetry (EDR)

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 14, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 14, 2026
  • Fix documented
    Oct 14, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Affected products added · xen/xen, fedoraproject/fedora, intel/sgx dcap, intel/sgx psw, intel/sgx sdk, vmware/esxi, debian/debian linux
    Oct 14, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 5.5
    Oct 14, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Modified
    Oct 14, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 14, 2026 · Alertas do Telegram
  • 2022
  • CVE published
    Jun 15, 2022 · intel

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 1× References added · Oct 14, 2026 – Oct 14, 2026
  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 14, 2026 – Oct 14, 2026

References

13 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Debian
every CVE for this vendor
CWE-459
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

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  • CVE-2026-56968 Use of Uninitialized Resource in Gnu Sasl Jun 23, 2026
  • CVE-2026-54231 Abrt: unsanitized systemd journal content written to dump directory files enables content injection Jun 13, 2026
  • CVE-2026-54230 Abrt: event handler scripts follow symlinks when writing output files, allowing arbitrary file overwrites Jun 13, 2026
  • CVE-2026-49975 Apache HTTP Server: mod_http2 denial of service Jun 8, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2022-21166 is "Incomplete cleanup in specific special register write operations for some Intel(R)…", rated Medium. It affects Debian Linux (Debian); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 5.5 describes technical severity. EPSS 5.78% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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