Smart Sound TechnologyApplication · Intel

CVE-2020-0583

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-03-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
90/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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 subsystem for Intel(R) Smart Sound Technology may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access. This affects Intel® Smart Sound Technology before versions: 10th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 Processors, version 3431 and 8th Generation Intel® Core™ Processors, version 3349.

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 the Intel Smart Sound Technology subsystem allows a local authenticated user to escalate privileges by exploiting insufficient permission checks in the audio driver subsystem, potentially gaining elevated system access.

MitigationApply the vendor patches by updating Intel Smart Sound Technology to version 3431 (10th Gen Core i7) or version 3349 (8th Gen Core) or later, as these versions contain the access control fixes.

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
Smart Sound TechnologyApplication
Affected:= 3431= 3349

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
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/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 checks

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

  1. Identify Intel Smart Sound Technology installation
    Check system for presence of Intel Smart Sound Technology driver or software component. On Windows, this may appear in Device Manager under Sound, video and game controllers, or as an installed program. On Linux, check for related kernel modules or packages.
    Affected if The software component is present on the system
  2. Locate the installed version number
    Retrieve the version of the Intel Smart Sound Technology driver or software. On Windows, right-click the driver in Device Manager and select Properties > Driver tab. On Linux, check package metadata or module version information.
    Affected if A version number is returned from the installed component
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Compare your installed version to the affected versions 3431 and 3349. Exact matches to these versions indicate vulnerability.
    Affected if The installed version equals 3431 or equals 3349
  4. Verify the audio driver is active
    Confirm the Intel Smart Sound Technology audio driver is loaded and functional. Check that the audio subsystem is operational and the driver is not disabled.
    Affected if The driver is loaded and the audio device is active and accessible
  5. Confirm local authenticated access
    Verify the system allows local user authentication. This CVE requires a local authenticated user to exploit the privilege escalation. Check that local user accounts exist and can log in.
    Affected if Local user authentication is enabled and users have authenticated sessions

A user is affected if Intel Smart Sound Technology is installed with version exactly 3431 or 3349 and the audio driver is active, allowing a local authenticated user to potentially exploit insufficient permission checks.

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 the vendor patches by updating Intel Smart Sound Technology to version 3431 (10th Gen Core i7) or version 3349 (8th Gen Core) or later, as these versions contain the access control fixes.

Fix this in Smart Sound Technology Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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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-2020-0583 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