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Radeon SoftwareApplication · Amd

CVE-2020-12900

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-11-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 20.7.1 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

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 · unedited
An arbitrary write vulnerability in the AMD Radeon Graphics Driver for Windows 10 potentially allows unprivileged users to gain Escalation of Privileges and cause Denial of Service.

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 confidence

An arbitrary write vulnerability in the AMD Radeon Graphics Driver for Windows 10 allows unprivileged users to write to arbitrary memory locations, leading to escalation of privileges to SYSTEM level and potential denial of service.

MitigationApply the AMD Radeon Graphics Driver security update provided by AMD to patch the arbitrary write vulnerability in the kernel-mode driver.

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
Radeon SoftwareApplication
Affected:< 20.7.1

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Locate installed AMD Radeon Software version
    Open Windows Control Panel > Programs and Features, or open Settings > Apps > Apps & features, and locate 'AMD Radeon Software' or similar AMD graphics software in the installed programs list. Note the version number displayed.
    Affected if The displayed version number is lower than 20.7.1 (for example, 20.5.1, 19.x.x, or earlier).
  2. Identify the AMD kernel-mode driver file
    Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\ and locate the file 'atikmdag.sys' (AMD display driver kernel module). Right-click the file, select Properties, and view the File Version tab.
    Affected if The File Version shown is lower than the version bundled with Radeon Software 20.7.1, or the driver file was installed with a date prior to the July 2020 security update.
  3. Check driver date via Windows Device Manager
    Open Device Manager, expand 'Display adapters', right-click the AMD graphics device, select Properties, go to the Driver tab, and note the Driver Version and Driver Date fields.
    Affected if The Driver Version string indicates a version released before July 2020, or the Driver Date is earlier than the security update release date.
  4. Verify Power Control Panel driver information
    Open AMD Radeon Software (if installed), navigate to the Settings or System tab, and locate the About or System Information section which typically displays the driver version number.
    Affected if The software reports a version number below 20.7.1.

You are affected if any installed AMD Radeon Software version or associated kernel driver version is lower than 20.7.1.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 20.7.1 or later
Fixed in 20.7.1
Interim mitigation

Apply the AMD Radeon Graphics Driver security update provided by AMD to patch the arbitrary write vulnerability in the kernel-mode driver.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Radeon Software 20.7.1 or later for Windows 10

  1. Navigate to the official AMD website (www.amd.com) and locate the AMD Radeon Software download section
  2. Select the appropriate version of Radeon Software for your graphics card and Windows 10
  3. Download Radeon Software version 20.7.1 or a later stable release
  4. Run the AMD Radeon Software installer with administrator privileges
  5. Follow the on-screen installation prompts to complete the upgrade
  6. Restart the computer after installation finishes to ensure the new driver is properly loaded
Caveat Upgrading graphics drivers may temporarily affect existing display settings; verify functionality after reboot

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Radeon Software Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,770
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,832.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-12900 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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