CVE-2025-35998 is a vulnerability identified in Intel Quick Assist Technology on certain Intel platforms, where a missing protection mechanism in an alternate hardware interface operating at Ring 0 (kernel mode) allows escalation of privilege. This flaw permits a system software adversary who already has privileged user access to leverage low complexity attacks combined with special internal knowledge to gain higher privileges, potentially compromising system confidentiality and integrity. The attack vector is local, requiring no user interaction, and no network access is needed. The vulnerability does not affect system availability directly. The CVSS 4.0 vector indicates low attack complexity (AC:L), requires privileged access (PR:H), no user interaction (UI:N), and results in high confidentiality and integrity impacts (VC:H, VI:H). The vulnerability was reserved in April 2025 and published in February 2026, with no known exploits in the wild yet. The affected versions are not explicitly listed but pertain to Intel platforms using Quick Assist Technology. The absence of patch links suggests that mitigations or patches may still be forthcoming or need to be obtained from Intel advisories. This vulnerability is critical for environments relying on Intel hardware acceleration for cryptographic or compression tasks, as it could allow attackers to bypass kernel protections and compromise sensitive data or system integrity.

The vulnerability allows an attacker with existing privileged user access to escalate their privileges further, potentially gaining full kernel-level control. This can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive information, modification of critical system components, and undermining of system integrity. Although availability is not directly impacted, the confidentiality and integrity breaches can facilitate further attacks, such as data exfiltration, installation of persistent malware, or disabling security controls. Organizations relying on Intel Quick Assist Technology for cryptographic acceleration or data processing are at particular risk. The local attack requirement limits remote exploitation but insider threats or compromised privileged accounts could exploit this vulnerability. The high CVSS score reflects the significant risk posed by this vulnerability to enterprise and cloud environments where Intel platforms are prevalent.

Organizations should monitor Intel security advisories closely for patches addressing CVE-2025-35998 and apply them promptly once available. Until patches are released, restrict local privileged user access to trusted personnel only and implement strict access controls and monitoring on systems using Intel Quick Assist Technology. Employ kernel-level integrity monitoring and audit logs to detect suspicious privilege escalations. Consider disabling Intel Quick Assist features if not required or isolating affected systems in secure network segments. Conduct regular privileged account reviews and enforce least privilege principles to reduce the risk of exploitation. Additionally, coordinate with hardware and software vendors to ensure comprehensive mitigation strategies are in place and test updates in controlled environments before deployment.