CVE-2020-12335
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 permissions in the installer for the Intel(R) Processor Identification Utility before version 6.4.0603 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 · moderate confidenceImproper permissions in the Intel Processor Identification Utility installer (versions before 6.4.0603) allow an authenticated local user to escalate privileges. The installer likely creates files or registry entries with overly permissive access controls, enabling a standard user to modify executable paths or DLLs and achieve elevated execution.
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< 6.4.0603CVSS 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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Verify Intel Processor Identification Utility is installedCheck for the presence of the Intel Processor Identification Utility installation directory, typically found under Program Files or Program Files (x86), or look for the application in Add/Remove Programs.Affected if The application is present on the system.
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Identify installed versionLocate the executable (typically named IPUTIL.exe or similar) and check its file properties for the version number, or check the version displayed by the application.Affected if Version is present but less than 6.4.0603.
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Inspect installation directory permissionsRight-click the installation folder in File Explorer, go to Properties > Security, and verify which users have Write or Modify permissions to the application directory and its executable files.Affected if Standard (non-admin) users have Write or Modify permissions to executable files in the installation directory.
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Check registry permissions for the applicationOpen regedit, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Intel or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Intel for the Processor Identification Utility keys. Right-click the key, select Permissions, and verify write access for standard users.Affected if Standard users have Write permission to registry keys controlling executable paths or DLL locations.
The system is affected if Intel Processor Identification Utility version is below 6.4.0603 and standard users have Write or Modify access to the application directory, executables, or related registry entries.
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 data6.4.0603
Upgrade Intel Processor Identification Utility to version 6.4.0603 or later to obtain the patched installer with corrected permission settings.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-12335 — 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-2020-12335 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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