CVE-2020-7207
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 · uneditedA local elevation of privilege using physical access security vulnerability was found in HPE Proliant Gen10 Servers using Intel Innovation Engine (IE). This attack requires a physical attack to the server motherboard. To mitigate this issue, ensure your server is always physically secured. HPE will not address this issue in the impacted Gen 10 servers listed. HPE recommends using appropriate physical security methods as a compensating control to disallow an attacker from having physical access to the server main circuit board.
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 confidenceHPE ProLiant Gen10 servers contain a local elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Intel Innovation Engine (IE) that allows an attacker with physical access to the server motherboard to gain elevated privileges. The vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls on the IE firmware component.
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 server modelUse HPE iLO web interface, run 'hponcfg -g' command, or check server nameplate/packaging to determine the exact HPE ProLiant or Apollo model numberAffected if The model matches any of: Hp Apollo 2000, Hp Apollo 4200 Gen10, Hp Apollo 4500, Hp Proliant Xl230k Gen10, Hp Proliant Xl270d Gen10, Hp Proliant Bl460c Gen10, Hp Proliant Dl120 Gen10, or Hp Proliant Dl160 Gen10
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Confirm Gen10 generationVerify the server is specifically Gen10 generation by checking the product name or serial number label on the chassisAffected if The server is a Gen10 model from the affected product list
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Verify firmware version is not patchedCheck the current Intel Innovation Engine firmware version via iLO or HPE SUM (Smart Update Manager) and compare against any HPE security bulletinsAffected if All firmware versions are affected because HPE has stated no patch will be issued; any version present means the system is vulnerable
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Assess physical access exposureEvaluate who has physical access to the server room or rack - check access logs, key card records, camera footage, or security policiesAffected if Any unauthorized or uncontrolled physical access to the server motherboard is possible, the vulnerability is exploitable
If any HPE ProLiant Gen10 or Apollo system from the affected product list is present in the environment and physical access to the server motherboard cannot be strictly controlled, the environment is affected by this CVE.
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 dataSince HPE will not issue a patch for this vulnerability, organizations must implement physical security compensating controls such as locked server cabinets, restricted access to data center facilities, tamper-evident seals, and surveillance to prevent unauthorized physical access to server motherboards.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-7207 — 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-2020-7207 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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