CVE-2025-14605: Intel Quartus Prime Search Path Vulnerability

CVE-2025-14605 Overview

CVE-2025-14605 is an Uncontrolled Search Path Element vulnerability [CWE-427] affecting Altera Quartus Prime Pro on Windows. The flaw resides in the System Console modules and allows Search Order Hijacking by local authenticated users. The issue impacts Quartus Prime Pro versions from 17.0 through 25.1.1. An attacker who can place a malicious binary in a directory searched before legitimate library paths can execute arbitrary code within the context of the Quartus Prime process. Exploitation requires local access, user interaction, and high attack complexity, which limits its practical reach to targeted scenarios such as compromised developer workstations or supply-chain staging environments.

Critical Impact
A successful Search Order Hijacking attack against Quartus Prime Pro can lead to high-impact compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability on the affected Windows host running FPGA design workflows.

Affected Products

Altera Quartus Prime Pro versions 17.0 through 25.1.1 (System Console modules)
Microsoft Windows hosts running the vulnerable Quartus Prime Pro installation
FPGA development workstations and build systems using affected Quartus tooling

Discovery Timeline

2026-01-07 - CVE-2025-14605 published to NVD
2026-01-12 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-14605

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability stems from how Quartus Prime Pro's System Console modules resolve external library and executable dependencies at load time. On Windows, when an application does not specify a fully qualified path for a dependency, the operating system walks a defined search order that includes the application's working directory and locations referenced by the PATH environment variable. Quartus Prime Pro's affected modules rely on this implicit search behavior for one or more components. An attacker with local, low-privileged access can drop a malicious DLL or executable into a writable directory that appears earlier in the search order than the legitimate location. When a user with appropriate permissions launches the System Console workflow, the trojanized binary loads in place of the intended dependency.

Root Cause

The root cause is the use of an Uncontrolled Search Path Element [CWE-427] within Quartus Prime Pro's System Console components. The application does not pin dependency resolution to absolute, trusted directories. This allows the Windows loader to follow a search order that may include attacker-influenced locations.

Attack Vector

Exploitation is local and requires user interaction. The attacker must have low-privileged access to the host, the ability to write a malicious file into a directory that participates in the search order, and a legitimate user must subsequently launch the vulnerable Quartus Prime Pro workflow. Attack complexity is high because successful exploitation depends on environment configuration and user behavior.

No public proof-of-concept code is available for this issue. Refer to the Altera Security Advisory ASA-0004 for vendor technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-14605

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected DLL or executable files in Quartus Prime Pro installation directories, project directories, or other locations on the Windows search path
Quartus Prime Pro processes loading modules from user-writable paths such as %TEMP%, %APPDATA%, or per-user project folders
Child processes spawned by quartus.exe or System Console binaries that do not correspond to documented Quartus tooling

Detection Strategies

Hunt for image-load telemetry where Quartus Prime Pro processes map DLLs from non-standard, user-writable directories
Compare hashes of DLLs loaded by Quartus components against known-good vendor baselines
Monitor for file-write events that place DLLs adjacent to Quartus executables or within directories listed in PATH

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable Windows Sysmon Event ID 7 (Image Loaded) and forward to a centralized analytics platform for review
Audit user PATH configurations and developer workstation directory permissions on hosts running Quartus Prime Pro
Alert on creation of executables or DLLs in project or working directories used by FPGA developers

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-14605

Immediate Actions Required

Apply the fixed Quartus Prime Pro release once published by Altera per advisory ASA-0004
Inventory all developer and build hosts running Quartus Prime Pro versions 17.0 through 25.1.1
Restrict write permissions on Quartus installation directories and any directories included in the system or user PATH

Patch Information

Altera has published advisory ASA-0004 covering this issue. Consult the advisory for the fixed Quartus Prime Pro version and upgrade guidance. Until the patched build is deployed, treat all installations in the 17.0–25.1.1 range as vulnerable.

Workarounds

Launch Quartus Prime Pro only from trusted, fully qualified paths and avoid running it from user-writable working directories
Remove writable, user-controlled entries from the system PATH environment variable on engineering workstations
Enforce application allowlisting (for example, Windows Defender Application Control) to block execution of unsigned DLLs from non-standard paths

bash

# Configuration example: enumerate Quartus installs and audit PATH on Windows hosts
Get-ChildItem -Path 'C:\','D:\' -Recurse -Filter 'quartus.exe' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
[Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable('Path','Machine') -split ';'
[Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable('Path','User') -split ';'