CVE-2025-31655: Intel Battery Diagnostic Privilege Escalation

CVE-2025-31655 Overview

CVE-2025-31655 is an incorrect default permissions vulnerability affecting Intel(R) Battery Life Diagnostic Tool. This flaw exists within Ring 3 user applications and may allow an authenticated local attacker to achieve privilege escalation on vulnerable systems. The vulnerability requires high attack complexity, specific attack requirements to be present, and active user interaction for successful exploitation.

Critical Impact

Successful exploitation could lead to high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the vulnerable system, potentially allowing an unprivileged attacker to escalate privileges through local access.

Affected Products

• Intel(R) Battery Life Diagnostic Tool (specific versions not disclosed)

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-02-10 - CVE-2025-31655 published to NVD
• 2026-02-10 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-31655

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-276 (Incorrect Default Permissions), a common weakness where software fails to properly set access permissions during installation or operation. The Intel Battery Life Diagnostic Tool contains insecure default permission settings that could allow an unprivileged software adversary to exploit the application.

The attack surface is limited to local access and requires an authenticated user context. Additionally, the exploitation complexity is high, meaning specific attack requirements must be present and active user interaction is necessary for successful privilege escalation. While the direct impact on the vulnerable system is severe (affecting confidentiality, integrity, and availability), there is no subsequent impact on downstream systems.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2025-31655 lies in incorrect default permission configurations within the Intel Battery Life Diagnostic Tool's Ring 3 user application components. When the software is installed or operates, it fails to properly restrict access to certain resources, creating an opportunity for privilege escalation. This type of misconfiguration typically occurs when installation routines or application logic grants overly permissive access rights to files, directories, or other system resources.

Attack Vector

The attack requires local access to the target system with a valid authenticated user session. An unprivileged software adversary must exploit the incorrect permissions while specific attack requirements are present. The attack does not require special internal knowledge of the system but does necessitate active user interaction to complete the privilege escalation chain. The local attack vector limits remote exploitation potential but remains a significant concern for shared workstations or systems where multiple users have access.

The vulnerability mechanism involves exploiting the overly permissive default settings to gain elevated privileges. For detailed technical information, refer to the Intel Security Advisory SA-01399.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-31655

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected permission changes on Intel Battery Life Diagnostic Tool installation directories or files
• Unusual process execution patterns involving the diagnostic tool with elevated privileges
• Suspicious user activity logs showing privilege escalation attempts following tool usage

Detection Strategies

• Monitor file system ACLs and permissions on Intel Battery Life Diagnostic Tool installation paths for deviations from expected baselines
• Implement application whitelisting to detect unauthorized privilege escalation attempts
• Enable Windows Security Event logging for privilege escalation events (Event IDs 4672, 4673, 4674)

Monitoring Recommendations

• Audit user session activities on systems with Intel Battery Life Diagnostic Tool installed
• Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to identify anomalous privilege escalation behavior
• Review system integrity monitoring alerts for changes to tool-related files and registry entries

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-31655

Immediate Actions Required

• Review the Intel Security Advisory SA-01399 for vendor-specific remediation guidance
• Audit current installations of Intel Battery Life Diagnostic Tool and verify permission configurations
• Restrict access to systems with the vulnerable tool to trusted users only until patches are applied
• Consider temporarily disabling or uninstalling the tool if not critical to operations

Patch Information

Intel has published security advisory SA-01399 addressing this vulnerability. Administrators should consult the Intel Security Advisory SA-01399 for official patch availability and installation instructions. Apply vendor-provided updates as soon as they become available.

Workarounds

• Manually restrict permissions on Intel Battery Life Diagnostic Tool installation directories and executables
• Implement least-privilege access controls for users who require the diagnostic tool
• Use application sandboxing or containerization to limit the tool's access to system resources

# Example: Restricting permissions on Windows (run as Administrator)
# Verify and restrict ACLs on the tool's installation directory
icacls "C:\Program Files\Intel\Battery Life Diagnostic Tool" /inheritance:r /grant:r "SYSTEM:(OI)(CI)F" /grant:r "Administrators:(OI)(CI)F" /grant:r "Users:(OI)(CI)RX"