CVE-2020-12329
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 search path in the Intel(R) VTune(TM) Profiler before version 2020 Update 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 · high confidenceIntel VTune Profiler before version 2020 Update 1 contains an uncontrolled search path vulnerability that allows an authenticated local user to potentially escalate privileges. The application likely loads executables or DLLs from a user-controlled or attacker-influenced path, enabling malicious code execution with elevated privileges.
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<= 2020CVSS 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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Identify Intel VTune Profiler installation and versionCheck the installed version using the Intel installer, or look for the product in Add/Remove Programs (Windows) or the package manager (Linux). Common registry locations: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Intel\VTune or check /opt/intel/vtune_amplifierAffected if The installed version is Intel VTune Profiler 2020 or any version before 2020 Update 1
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Verify the exact version numberRun 'vtune-amp' --version from the installation bin directory, or check the About dialog within the VTune Profiler GUI if accessibleAffected if The version shows 2020 without Update 1, or shows a year-based version like 2020 (without the Update 1 qualifier), or shows any version earlier than 2020
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Confirm the application is in use on the systemCheck if Intel VTune Profiler is installed on the system by searching for the installation directory, typically under C:\Program Files\Intel\ (Windows) or /opt/intel/vtune_amplifier/ (Linux)Affected if The application directory exists and contains the VTune Profiler binaries, indicating the vulnerable software is present
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Assess the privilege contextDetermine whether VTune Profiler has been or could be run with elevated privileges, as the vulnerability allows privilege escalation from an authenticated local user contextAffected if The application runs with higher privileges than a standard user, or could be launched with elevated rights
A system is affected if Intel VTune Profiler version 2020 or any version prior to 2020 Update 1 is installed and the application can be run, since the uncontrolled search path allows DLL/executable loading from user-controlled locations.
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 dataUpgrade to Intel VTune Profiler 2020 Update 1 or later to obtain the patched version. Verify the installation path and ensure only trusted locations are in the application search path.
- Consultation2.0 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-2020-12329 — 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-2020-12329 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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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.
- 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