CVE-2020-12304
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 access control in Installer for Intel(R) DAL SDK before version 2.1 for Windows may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privileges 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 confidenceImproper access control in the Intel DAL SDK installer for Windows allows an authenticated local user to escalate privileges by exploiting insufficient permission controls during or after installation. The vulnerability stems from overly permissive file system ACLs set by the installer.
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< 2.1CVSS 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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Check if Intel DAL SDK is installedInspect the Windows registry key at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Intel\DALSDK for a Version value, or look for the installation directory at C:\Program Files\Intel\DAL SDK or C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\DAL SDKAffected if The product is not found in registry or the directory does not exist, meaning the software is not installed and this CVE does not apply
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Determine installed versionRead the Version value from the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Intel\DALSDK, or check for a version file in the installation directoryAffected if The version cannot be determined or is lower than 2.1 (for example, 1.x or any version number less than 2.1)
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Verify ACL permissions on installation folderRight-click the Intel DAL SDK installation folder, select Properties, then the Security tab. Check if Users or Authenticated Users have Full Control or Modify permissions on the directory or its subfoldersAffected if Users orAuthenticated Users group has Full Control or Modify permissions, indicating overly permissive ACLs that could allow privilege escalation
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Check for leftover installation filesInspect the installation directory for temporary or leftover installer files with broad permissions, or check %TEMP% for Intel installer-related files with weak ACLsAffected if Installation files with overly permissive permissions exist in the directory or temp folder
You are affected if Intel DAL SDK is installed with a version lower than 2.1 and the installation folder or files have overly permissive ACLs that allow standard users modify or full control access.
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 data2.1
Update Intel DAL SDK to version 2.1 or later to obtain the patched installer with proper access controls.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-12304 — 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-2020-12304 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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