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Radeon Pro SoftwareApplication · Amd

CVE-2020-12981

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-06-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 20.7.1 / 21.q1 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 insufficient input validation in the AMD Graphics Driver for Windows 10 may allow unprivileged users to unload the driver, potentially causing memory corruptions in high privileged processes, which can lead to escalation of privileges or 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 · high confidence

This is a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the AMD Graphics Driver for Windows 10. Insufficient input validation allows unprivileged users to unload the kernel-mode driver, causing memory corruption in high-privileged (SYSTEM) processes. This can lead to arbitrary code execution with elevated privileges or system crash (DoS).

MitigationApply the AMD-provided driver update that addresses the input validation vulnerability. Restrict driver unloading permissions via Group Policy or registry controls as a defense-in-depth measure until the patch is deployed.

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 Pro SoftwareApplication
Affected:< 21.q1
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. Check installed AMD Radeon Software version
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, look for 'AMD Radeon Software' or 'AMD Catalyst Control Center' and note the version number displayed. Alternatively, check the registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for entries containing 'AMD' or 'Radeon' and retrieve the DisplayVersion value.
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 20.7.1 for AMD Radeon Software, or lower than 21.q1 for AMD Radeon Pro Software.
  2. Check AMD graphics driver version in Device Manager
    Open Device Manager, expand 'Display adapters', right-click the AMD GPU device, select 'Properties', go to the 'Driver' tab, and record the Driver Version. This shows the kernel driver version (atikmdag.sys).
    Affected if The driver version string is lower than 27.20.7.1 (which corresponds to software version 20.7.1).
  3. Verify AMD kernel driver is loaded
    Open Command Prompt as any user and run 'sc query atikmdag' to query the status of the AMD kernel driver service (atikmdag.sys).
    Affected if The service exists and is in a running state, indicating the vulnerable driver component is active.
  4. Confirm unprivileged user context
    Verify you are running from a standard user account (non-admin). Run 'whoami /groups' and confirm the output does not include 'BUILTIN\Administrators' or 'S-1-5-32-544'.
    Affected if The check is performed from an unprivileged account, because the vulnerability specifically allows unprivileged users to unload the driver.

You are affected if an AMD graphics driver version below 20.7.1 (Radeon Software) or below 21.q1 (Radeon Pro Software) is installed and loaded on Windows 10, and the system has unprivileged user access to potentially trigger driver unload.

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.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 20.7.1 / 21.q1 or later
Fixed in 20.7.121.q1
Interim mitigation

Apply the AMD-provided driver update that addresses the input validation vulnerability. Restrict driver unloading permissions via Group Policy or registry controls as a defense-in-depth measure until the patch is deployed.

Fix this in Radeon Pro Software Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,560
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,096.

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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-2020-12981 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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