CVE-2020-24525
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 · uneditedInsecure inherited permissions in firmware update tool for some Intel(R) NUCs 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 confidenceInsecure inherited permissions in the firmware update tool for certain Intel NUC devices allows an authenticated local user to elevate privileges. The firmware update tool inherits overly permissive file/system permissions that can be exploited to gain higher-level access.
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= inwhl357.0036= inwhl357.0036= inwhl357.0036= inwhl357.0036= pnwhl357.0037= pnwhl357.0037= pnwhl357.0037= pnwhl357.0037CVSS 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 the Intel NUC modelCheck the physical label on the device or run system information commands (such as 'dmidecode' on Linux or check System Information on Windows) to determine the exact NUC model number (e.g., Nuc8i5inh, Nuc8i7inh, Nuc8i3pnb)Affected if The model is one of the affected variants: Nuc8i5inh, Nuc8i7inh, Nuc8i3pnb, Nuc8i3pnh, or Nuc8i3pnk
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Check the installed firmware versionUse the Intel Firmware Update Tool or access the BIOS/UEFI settings (press F2 during boot) to view the current firmware version. On Windows, you can also use Intel's Driver & Support Assistant or run 'wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion'. On Linux, check '/sys/class/dmi/id/' or use 'dmidecode -s bios-version'Affected if The firmware version is either inwhl357.0036 (for Nuc8i5inh/Nuc8i7inh models) or pnwhl357.0037 (for Nuc8i3pnb/Nuc8i3pnh/Nuc8i3pnk models)
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Locate the firmware update toolOn Windows, the Intel firmware update tool is typically found in C:\Program Files\Intel\Intel(R) Firmware Update Tool or similar. On Linux, check /usr/bin/ or /opt/ for Intel update utilitiesAffected if The firmware update tool binary exists on the system and is accessible to local users
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Verify file permissions on the firmware update toolOn Windows, right-click the firmware update tool executable, go to Properties > Security tab, and check the permissions for Users and Authenticated Users. On Linux, run 'ls -la <path-to-tool>' to inspect owner, group, and world permissions (read/write/execute)Affected if The tool grants read, write, or execute permissions to standard users or the 'Users' group, allowing an authenticated local user to modify or replace the tool
Your environment is affected if you have an Intel NUC 8 model (Nuc8i5inh, Nuc8i7inh, Nuc8i3pnb, Nuc8i3pnh, or Nuc8i3pnk) running firmware version inwhl357.0036 or pnwhl357.0037, and the firmware update tool has overly permissive file permissions accessible to local authenticated users.
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-released firmware updates for affected NUC models. Verify that the firmware update tool now enforces proper permission controls and restrict local administrative access to trusted personnel.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,680.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-24525 — 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-2020-24525 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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