CVE-2022-21160 is a high-severity vulnerability affecting certain Intel(R) PROSet/Wireless WiFi products. The root cause is improper buffer restrictions, a classic buffer overflow or buffer handling flaw categorized under CWE-119. This vulnerability allows an unauthenticated attacker to cause a denial of service (DoS) condition remotely via network access, without requiring any user interaction or privileges. The vulnerability arises because the affected wireless drivers or software components do not properly validate or limit input data sizes, which can lead to memory corruption or crashes when processing specially crafted network packets or requests. Exploitation results in the disruption of wireless connectivity or system instability, impacting availability but not confidentiality or integrity. The CVSS v3.1 score is 7.5 (high), reflecting the network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), no user interaction (UI:N), unchanged scope (S:U), no impact on confidentiality or integrity (C:N/I:N), but high impact on availability (A:H). No known exploits in the wild have been reported as of the publication date. The affected versions are not explicitly listed here but are referenced in Intel advisories. This vulnerability is significant because Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi products are widely deployed in laptops, desktops, and enterprise environments, making the attack surface broad. An attacker within wireless range or connected to the same network segment can trigger the DoS, potentially disrupting business operations or critical communications.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2022-21160 can be substantial, especially for enterprises relying heavily on Intel wireless hardware for employee connectivity. A successful DoS attack can cause network outages, loss of productivity, and disruption of critical services, particularly in sectors like finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and government where wireless connectivity is essential. Since the vulnerability requires no authentication or user interaction, attackers can launch attacks remotely within wireless range, increasing the risk in public or semi-public environments such as offices, campuses, or transport hubs. The availability impact can also affect remote work scenarios, which remain prevalent in Europe. Although the vulnerability does not compromise data confidentiality or integrity, the denial of service can indirectly affect business continuity and operational resilience. Additionally, the lack of known exploits in the wild currently reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, as proof-of-concept exploits could emerge.

To mitigate CVE-2022-21160, European organizations should: 1) Identify all devices using Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi products and verify their firmware and driver versions against Intel’s security advisories. 2) Apply the latest patches and firmware updates provided by Intel promptly once available, as these will contain fixes to enforce proper buffer restrictions. 3) Implement network segmentation and wireless access controls to limit exposure of vulnerable devices to untrusted networks or users. 4) Monitor wireless network traffic for unusual patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, using intrusion detection systems tuned for wireless threats. 5) Enforce strong physical security and access controls to prevent attackers from gaining proximity to wireless networks. 6) Educate IT staff about this vulnerability and ensure incident response plans include scenarios involving wireless DoS attacks. 7) Consider temporary mitigations such as disabling vulnerable wireless interfaces or switching to alternative network adapters if patching is delayed. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on inventory management, proactive patching, network controls, and monitoring specific to wireless environments.