CVE-2020-12296
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 · uneditedUncontrolled resource consumption in some Intel(R) Thunderbolt(TM) controllers 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 · moderate confidenceUncontrolled resource consumption in Intel Thunderbolt controllers allows an authenticated local user to potentially cause denial of service. The vulnerability stems from improper resource management in the Thunderbolt firmware, enabling a locally authenticated attacker to consume excessive resources and render the system or controller unresponsive.
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 dataall versionsall versionsall versionsall versions< 21< 46< 46< 22CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Thunderbolt controller hardwareOpen Device Manager and expand 'Universal Serial Bus controllers' or 'System devices'. Look for entries containing 'Thunderbolt' or Intel controller names such as Dsl5320, Dsl5520, Dsl6340, Dsl6540, Jhl6240, Jhl6340, Jhl6540, or Jhl7040.Affected if No Thunderbolt hardware listed, meaning the system is not vulnerable.
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Confirm the exact controller modelRight-click the Thunderbolt controller entry in Device Manager, select Properties, then go to the Details tab and choose 'Hardware Ids' or check the controller name in the device description.Affected if The controller model matches one of the affected Dsl or Jhl series listed in the CVE.
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Check installed Thunderbolt firmware versionIn Device Manager, select the Thunderbolt controller, go to the Driver tab, and look for firmware version information. Alternatively, use Intel Thunderbolt software/Thunderbolt Control Center if installed, or check BIOS/UEFI firmware information for Thunderbolt firmware version.Affected if Unable to determine firmware version from available system tools.
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Compare firmware version to affected rangesFor Dsl5320, Dsl5520, Dsl6340, Dsl6540: any version is affected since all versions are vulnerable. For Jhl6240: version < 21 is affected. For Jhl6340 and Jhl6540: version < 46 is affected. For Jhl7040: version < 22 is affected.Affected if The installed firmware version falls within the affected range for the specific controller model.
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Verify local authenticated access existsReview system user accounts and local access controls. The vulnerability requires a locally authenticated user to exploit the resource consumption issue.Affected if Multiple local users exist or the system permits local user authentication, increasing attack surface.
A user is affected if their system contains an Intel Thunderbolt controller matching the affected Dsl or Jhl models, and the installed firmware version is within the vulnerable range for that specific controller.
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 data212246
Apply Intel firmware updates for affected Thunderbolt controllers when available, and limit physical and local access to systems with Thunderbolt ports to reduce the attack surface.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-12296 — 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-2020-12296 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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