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Debian LinuxOperating system · Debian

CVE-2020-0549

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-01-28
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
Cleanup errors in some data cache evictions for some Intel(R) Processors may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable information disclosure 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 · moderate confidence

This is a cache timing side-channel vulnerability in Intel processors where cleanup errors during data cache evictions can potentially allow an authenticated local user to leak information from the processor cache. This is consistent with speculative execution vulnerability classes affecting CPU cache behavior.

MitigationApply Intel processor microcode/firmware updates and BIOS updates as released by Intel and system OEMs. Verify successful deployment via system inventory and monitoring for stability issues post-update.

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
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 8.0= 10.0= 11.0
Ubuntu LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 14.04= 16.04= 18.04= 19.10= 20.04
FedoraOperating system
Affected:= 31= 32
Core I7 8700b FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Core I7 8569u FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Core I7 8650u FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Core I7 8565u FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions
Core I7 8560u FirmwareOperating system
Affected:all versions

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
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

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

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. Identify the CPU model
    Run 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' and look for 'model name' or use 'lscpu' command. Check if the processor is one of: Intel Core i7-8700b, i7-8569u, i7-8650u, i7-8565u, or i7-8560u.
    Affected if The processor model matches one of the affected Intel Core i7 variants listed in the CVE.
  2. Check the loaded microcode version on Linux
    Run 'dmesg | grep -i microcode' or check 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' for the 'microcode' field. This shows the currently loaded CPU microcode version.
    Affected if The microcode version is earlier than the patched version Intel released for this CVE, or if the system shows no microcode version loaded.
  3. Verify if microcode update package is installed
    On Debian/Ubuntu systems, run 'dpkg -l | grep intel-microcode' or 'apt list --installed | grep microcode'. On Fedora, check 'rpm -qa | grep microcode'.
    Affected if The intel-microcode package is not installed, or is installed but not loaded.
  4. Check CPU vulnerability status via /sys filesystem
    On affected Linux kernels, check 'cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/vulnerabilities/*' if available. Some kernels expose CPU side-channel vulnerability status here.
    Affected if The system shows 'Vulnerable' or no mitigation status for cache timing/Speculative Execution vulnerabilities.
  5. Confirm the OS version matches affected distributions
    Run 'cat /etc/os-release' or 'lsb_release -a' to identify the Linux distribution and version.
    Affected if The system runs Debian 8.0, 10.0, or 11.0; Ubuntu 14.04, 16.04, 18.04, 19.10, or 20.04; or Fedora 31 or 32.

A system is likely affected if it uses one of the listed Intel Core i7 processors (8700b, 8569u, 8650u, 8565u, 8560u) or runs one of the affected OS versions, and the CPU microcode has not been updated to the patched version.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Intel processor microcode/firmware updates and BIOS updates as released by Intel and system OEMs. Verify successful deployment via system inventory and monitoring for stability issues post-update.

Fix this in Debian Linux Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,600
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2020-0549 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