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HighCISA KEVExploited in the wildPublic exploit

Kernel Privilege Escalation in Intel Ethernet Diagnostics Driver (IQVW32.sys/IQVW64.sys)

IdentifiersCVE-2015-2291CWE-119

CVE-2015-2291 affects Intel Ethernet diagnostics drivers for Windows, specifically IQVW32.sys and IQVW64.sys before version 1.3.1.0. The vulnerability is exposed through multiple crafted IOCTL requests, including 0x80862013, 0x8086200B, 0x8086200F, and 0x80862007. A local attacker can interact with the vulnerable driver and trigger unsafe kernel-mode behavior, resulting in a system crash or potentially arbitrary code execution in kernel context. The provided content does not identify the exact vulnerable function, but it does establish that the flaw resides in the driver's IOCTL handling logic and has been abused in Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver (BYOVD) scenarios involving iqvw64.sys.

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation can cause denial of service via system crash/bugcheck or enable arbitrary code execution with kernel privileges. In practical intrusion activity, the vulnerability has been used to obtain kernel-mode execution, load or facilitate malicious kernel drivers, terminate or bypass security products, and evade endpoint detection. Because exploitation occurs in kernel context, compromise can undermine core OS trust boundaries and enable full control of the affected host.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

If immediate upgrade or removal is not possible, reduce exposure by preventing untrusted or unnecessary kernel drivers from being loaded, enabling Microsoft’s vulnerable driver blocklist/HVCI-based protections where available, and monitoring for suspicious driver load events involving iqvw64.sys or related Intel NAL diagnostic drivers. Application control and WDAC policies can help prevent abuse of signed but vulnerable drivers. Restrict local administrative access and investigate unexpected IOCTL activity or driver loads associated with BYOVD tradecraft.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Upgrade Intel Ethernet diagnostics driver components IQVW32.sys and IQVW64.sys to version 1.3.1.0 or later. Remove legacy vulnerable copies of the driver from systems where the diagnostics package is not required. In environments concerned with BYOVD abuse, audit for the presence of iqvw64.sys/iqvw32.sys, block known vulnerable hashes/certificates via Microsoft-recommended driver block rules, and ensure Windows vulnerable driver blocklist protections are enabled where supported.
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

3 valid exploits after Mallory filtered fakes, detection scripts, and README-only repos (2 hidden).

VALID 3 / 5 TOTALView more in app
iqvw64e-privilege-escalationMaturityPoCVerified exploit

Repository contains a Windows local privilege escalation PoC for CVE-2015-2291 targeting Intel's iqvw64e.sys (device \\.\Nal). Structure: (1) README.md explains reverse engineering of the driver's IRP_MJ_DEVICE_CONTROL handler, the IOCTL 0x80862007 path, and a jump-table dispatch where index 0x33 triggers an internal memmove-like routine. This yields an arbitrary kernel memory copy primitive, which is wrapped into read64/write64 helpers. (2) main.cpp is the operational exploit: it enumerates kernel drivers to find the ntoskrnl.exe base, loads a local ntoskrnl.exe to resolve PsInitialSystemProcess and compute its kernel address, uses the memmove primitive to read the SYSTEM process EPROCESS and its Token, walks the ActiveProcessLinks list to find the current process EPROCESS by UniqueProcessId, overwrites the current process Token with the SYSTEM token (token stealing), then launches powershell.exe. The exploit is build-specific due to hardcoded EPROCESS offsets for Windows 10 x64 22H2 (19045.6466). No network IOCs are present; all interaction is local via the device driver and kernel memory primitives.

ethaneditsDisclosed Jan 25, 2026c++markdownlocal
CVE-2015-2291MaturityPoCVerified exploit

This repository provides a detailed write-up and fully functional local privilege escalation exploit for CVE-2015-2291, targeting the Intel Ethernet diagnostics driver (IQVW32.sys/IQVW64.sys) on Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 10 20H2 (both 64-bit). The exploit is implemented in C and assembly, with separate codebases for Windows 7 and Windows 10. The main exploit logic is in 'exploit.c', which interacts with the vulnerable driver via the DeviceIoControl API using the IOCTL code 0x80862007. The exploit leverages the lack of proper input validation in the driver to perform arbitrary memory operations in kernel space, ultimately overwriting function pointers in the HalDispatchTable to execute custom kernel shellcode. The shellcode steals the SYSTEM process token and assigns it to the current process, resulting in a SYSTEM shell. The repository includes all necessary source files, project files for Visual Studio, and detailed technical documentation in the README. The exploit is operational and demonstrates a real-world local privilege escalation technique using a BYOVD (Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver) approach.

gmh5225Disclosed Jun 28, 2022cassemblylocal
Intel-CVE-2015-2291MaturityPoCVerified exploit

This repository is a proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit for CVE-2015-2291, a privilege escalation vulnerability in the Intel Ethernet diagnostics driver (iqvw64e.sys) on Windows. The exploit is implemented in C++ and consists of two main code files: 'intelExplo.cpp' (main logic) and 'intelExplo.hpp' (definitions and helper functions/structs). The exploit interacts with the driver via the device interface '\\.\Nal' and leverages IOCTLs to perform arbitrary kernel memory read/write operations. By manipulating kernel memory, the exploit locates the SYSTEM process token and overwrites the current process token, effectively granting SYSTEM privileges to the exploit process. It then spawns a SYSTEM shell (cmd.exe). The code also includes additional functionality for physical-to-virtual address translation and mapping physical memory, which can be used for arbitrary kernel memory access. The exploit requires the vulnerable driver to be loaded and accessible, and is intended for local privilege escalation on Windows systems.

Tare05Disclosed Feb 22, 2020c++local
EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType
IntelEthernet Diagnostics Driver Iqvw32.Sysapplication
IntelEthernet Diagnostics Driver Iqvw64.Sysapplication

Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.

ACTIVITY FEED

Recent activity

14 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.

What this page doesn’t show

The version that knows your environment.

This page is what’s public. Mallory adds the parts that aren’t: which of your assets are affected, which adversaries are exploiting it right now, which detections to deploy, and what to do tonight.
Exposure mapping

Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.

Threat actor evidence6

Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.

Associated malware5

Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.

Detection signatures1

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity4

Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.