CVE-2020-12312
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 buffer restrictions in the Intel(R) Stratix(R) 10 FPGA firmware provided with the Intel(R) Quartus(R) Prime Pro software before version 20.2 may allow an unauthenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via physical 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 buffer restrictions in the Intel Stratix 10 FPGA firmware (provided with Quartus Prime Pro before v20.2) allows an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to potentially achieve privilege escalation. The vulnerability stems from inadequate bounds checking in the firmware image, which could be exploited via physical manipulation of the device.
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< 20.2all versionsCVSS 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
- Physical
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/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 installed Quartus Prime Pro versionRun 'quartus_sh --version' or check the software installation directory for the version numberAffected if Version is below 20.2 (e.g., 20.1, 19.x, or earlier)
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Identify the Stratix 10 firmware image versionLocate the firmware file (.rbf or .sof) used to program the device and check its metadata or generation timestampAffected if Firmware was generated with Quartus Prime Pro versions earlier than 20.2 or the generation tool version cannot be verified
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Verify firmware deployed on the Stratix 10 deviceConnect to the device and query its current firmware version via the device's management interface or JTAGAffected if The running firmware was compiled with an unpatched Quartus Prime Pro toolchain (pre-20.2)
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Assess physical access exposureReview physical security controls around the Stratix 10 hardware deploymentAffected if The FPGA device is accessible to personnel without restricted access controls
You are affected if your Stratix 10 firmware was generated using Quartus Prime Pro versions earlier than 20.2, regardless of whether physical access to the device is currently restricted.
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 data20.2
Update Intel Quartus Prime Pro software to version 20.2 or later and regenerate/redeploy the affected Stratix 10 FPGA firmware with the patched toolchain.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-12312 — 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-2020-12312 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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