CVE-2020-12359
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 · uneditedInsufficient control flow management in the firmware for some Intel(R) Processors 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 confidenceThis vulnerability exists in the firmware of certain Intel processors where insufficient control flow management allows an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to potentially escalate privileges. The physical access requirement limits the attack surface but could allow a malicious actor with direct system access to bypass standard security controls.
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 versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall 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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Identify Intel processor systems in your environmentReview hardware inventory or run 'dmidecode -s processor-manufacturer' or 'lscpu' on Linux systems to confirm Intel CPUs are in useAffected if Systems contain Intel processors and have BIOS/firmware that has not been updated by Intel since May 2020
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Check BIOS/firmware version on Intel systemsRun 'dmidecode -s bios-version' on Linux, 'wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion' on Windows, or check through IPMI/BMC interfaces (ipmitool raw command or web UI)Affected if The installed BIOS version predates Intel's May 2020 microcode/firmware updates for this CVE
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Identify Netapp storage and backup productsReview asset inventory for Netapp Cloud Backup, Netapp Aff, E Series, Fas, Hci Compute Node, Hci Storage Node, or Solidfire systemsAffected if Any Netapp devices listed in the affected products are present in the environment
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Check Netapp device BIOS/firmware versionsUse Netapp OnCommand System Manager or CLI 'system node hardware firmware bios' to retrieve BIOS version information on Netapp hardwareAffected if The Netapp device BIOS version has not been updated by Netapp to address the Intel processor vulnerability
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Verify physical security postureDocument who has physical access to Intel-based servers and storage systems; review access logs and badge records for unauthorized physical access attemptsAffected if Systems are accessible to unauthorized personnel or located in areas without proper access controls
Your environment is affected if you run any Intel processor-based systems or the listed Netapp products with BIOS firmware that has not been updated since May 2020 to address the control flow vulnerability.
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 dataApply Intel-provided firmware updates for affected processors. Organizations should also enforce physical security controls and consider the risk posed by individuals with physical access to systems.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-12359 — 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-2020-12359 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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