CVE-2026-32791

A flaw was found in Intel Performance Counter Monitor (Intel PCM). An unprivileged, authenticated local attacker could exploit an untrusted search path vulnerability. This could lead to an escalation of privilege, allowing the attacker to gain higher access rights. The vulnerability has a high impact on the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system.

An untrusted search path vulnerability exists in Intel Performance Counter Monitor (PCM) before version 202604 in Ring 3 user application execution contexts. Due to improper path resolution, an authenticated local attacker with low privileges can place a malicious shared library or executable binary in a directory searched by PCM applications. When a privileged user or service executes PCM, it loads the attacker's binary, leading to local privilege escalation and full compromise of system confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.

To mitigate this issue, restrict write permissions on directories along the system execution path to trusted administrative accounts, or run Intel PCM binary tools exclusively from secure, root-owned installation paths.