CVE-2020-8678
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 · uneditedImproper access control for Intel(R) Graphics Drivers before version 15.45.33.5164 and 27.20.100.8280 may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable an 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 confidenceIntel Graphics Drivers before versions 15.45.33.5164 and 27.20.100.8280 contain an improper access control flaw that allows an authenticated local user to escalate privileges. The vulnerability requires local access to the system and the attacker must already have valid credentials to log in.
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< 15.45.33.5164>= 27.20, < 27.20.100.8280CVSS 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 if Intel Graphics Driver is installedOpen Device Manager, expand 'Display adapters', and look for Intel graphics devices (e.g., Intel UHD Graphics, Intel Iris Xe). Alternatively, check Programs and Features for Intel Graphics driver packages.Affected if No Intel Graphics Driver is found in the system, the vulnerability does not apply.
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Determine the installed Intel Graphics Driver versionIn Device Manager, right-click the Intel graphics device, select Properties, go to the Driver tab, and note the Driver Version. Alternatively, run 'driverquery /v | findstr -i intel' or check the registry at HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\igfxAffected if Unable to determine driver version, assume potentially affected.
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Compare the installed version against the affected rangesIf the driver version starts with 15.x, check if it is earlier than 15.45.33.5164. If the version starts with 27.x, check if it is 27.20.x.x or between 27.20.100.8280 (exclusive).Affected if Version is < 15.45.33.5164 for 15.x branch, or >= 27.20 and < 27.20.100.8280 for 27.x branch.
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Verify local user authentication requirementConfirm that the system allows local user authentication (i.e., local accounts exist or the system is domain-joined with cached credentials). This is typically always true for standard Windows systems.Affected if The system has no local or domain users capable of logging in, the exploit path is not viable.
The environment is affected if an Intel Graphics Driver is installed with a version below 15.45.33.5164 (for 15.x branch) or between 27.20.0.0 and 27.20.100.8280 (exclusive), and local user authentication is possible.
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 data15.45.33.516427.20.100.8280
Update Intel Graphics Drivers to version 15.45.33.5164 or 27.20.100.8280 or later. Organizations should use enterprise deployment tools to ensure consistent driver updates across managed endpoints.
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- Implementation2.0 h
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- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-8678 — 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-2020-8678 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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