Graphics DriversApplication · Intel

CVE-2020-0518

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-02-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 15.36.39.5143 / 15.40.46.5144 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Improper access control in the Intel(R) HD Graphics Control Panel before version 15.40.46.5144 and 15.36.39.5143 may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable denial of service via local access.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Improper access control in Intel(R) HD Graphics Control Panel allows an authenticated local user to potentially cause denial of service. The vulnerability affects versions prior to 15.40.46.5144 and 15.36.39.5143, enabling a local attacker to exploit insufficient access controls in the graphics control panel software.

MitigationUpdate Intel HD Graphics Control Panel to version 15.40.46.5144 or 15.36.39.5143 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Graphics DriversApplication
Affected:< 15.36.39.5143>= 15.40.0.0, < 15.40.46.5144

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm Intel Graphics Control Panel is installed
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, or check Device Manager under Display adapters for Intel HD Graphics entries
    Affected if Intel HD Graphics Control Panel is not present on the system - no further action needed
  2. Identify installed Intel Graphics Driver version on Windows
    Run 'dxdiag' command, or right-click Desktop > Intel Graphics Settings > About, or check Device Manager > Display adapters > Intel HD Graphics > Driver tab for the driver version
    Affected if Unable to retrieve a version number - manual verification may be required
  3. Compare version against vulnerable ranges
    Check if the installed version is < 15.36.39.5143 OR falls in the range >= 15.40.0.0 and < 15.40.46.5144
    Affected if Installed version matches either of these conditions - the system is running a vulnerable version
  4. Verify local user access to Intel Graphics Control Panel
    Confirm that unprivileged local user accounts can access or execute the Intel HD Graphics Control Panel application
    Affected if Non-admin users have access to the control panel, the denial of service attack vector is present

The system is affected if Intel HD Graphics Control Panel is installed AND the installed driver version falls below 15.36.39.5143 or is between 15.40.0.0 and 15.40.46.5144 inclusive.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 15.36.39.5143 / 15.40.46.5144 or later
Fixed in 15.36.39.514315.40.46.5144
Interim mitigation

Update Intel HD Graphics Control Panel to version 15.40.46.5144 or 15.36.39.5143 or later to remediate this vulnerability.

Fix this in Graphics Drivers Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $890
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-0518 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-0518 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data