CVE-2020-0561
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 · uneditedImproper initialization in the Intel(R) SGX SDK before v2.6.100.1 may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privilege 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 confidenceImproper initialization vulnerability in Intel SGX SDK versions prior to v2.6.100.1 allows a local, authenticated user to escalate privileges. The flaw stems from incorrect initialization routines within the SGX Software Development Kit that can be exploited to gain elevated access.
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< 2.6.100.1< 2.8.100.1= sle-15= 15.1CVSS 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
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Intel SGX SDK installationCheck for the presence of the Intel SGX SDK by looking for directories such as /opt/intel/sgxsdk/ or by querying your system's package manager (e.g., rpm -qa | grep -i sgx, dpkg -l | grep -i sgx).Affected if The Intel SGX SDK is not installed on the system.
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Determine installed SGX SDK versionLocate and read the version file within the SDK installation directory, typically found in a version.h file or a version.txt file under /opt/intel/sgxsdk/, or query the installed package version via your package manager.Affected if The installed version is lower than 2.6.100.1 or lower than 2.8.100.1.
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Confirm SGX is enabled in the system BIOS/UEFICheck if Intel SGX is enabled on the platform by attempting to list SGX enclaves (which requires SGX to be active) or by reviewing system BIOS/UEFI settings if direct console access is available.Affected if SGX is enabled and the SDK version is vulnerable.
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Identify applications using the SGX SDKReview deployed applications and services to determine which ones utilize Intel SGX enclaves built with the installed SDK. Check application documentation, installed packages, or running processes that may load SGX enclaves.Affected if Applications using the vulnerable SDK version are deployed.
You are affected if the Intel SGX SDK is installed with a version prior to 2.6.100.1 or 2.8.100.1 and SGX enclaves built with that SDK are in use on the system.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 data2.6.100.12.8.100.1
Upgrade Intel SGX SDK to version v2.6.100.1 or later. Identify all deployments of the vulnerable SDK version and validate SGX functionality post-upgrade.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-0561 — 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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-0561 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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