CVE-2020-8694
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 · uneditedInsufficient access control in the Linux kernel driver for some Intel(R) Processors may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable information disclosure 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 · moderate confidenceInsufficient access control in the Linux kernel driver for certain Intel processors allows an authenticated local user to potentially disclose information. The vulnerability stems from improper permission checks within the kernel driver, enabling a user with local access to bypass intended restrictions and access sensitive data that should be protected.
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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 CPU modelRun 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' or 'lscpu' and look for the processor model name in the outputAffected if The CPU model matches any of these: Intel Core I7 8510y, Intel Core I7 8500y, Intel Core I5 8310y, Intel Core I5 8210y, Intel Core I5 8200y, Intel Core M3 8100y, Intel Core I7 7500u, or Intel Core I7 7510u
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Check the system firmware versionOn Linux, run 'dmidecode -s bios-version' or check the UEFI/BIOS setup screen for the firmware versionAffected if The firmware is from the affected product line and is running without the patched microcode
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Identify loaded Intel kernel driversRun 'lsmod | grep -i intel' and check for drivers related to Intel processor management such as 'intel_rapl', 'intel_pmc', 'intel_pmc_core', or similar power management or debug driversAffected if Any of these Intel processor-related kernel drivers are loaded and the system uses an affected CPU model
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Verify kernel version and microcodeRun 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' and look for 'microcode' in the flags section, or run 'dmesg | grep -i microcode' to see the loaded microcode versionAffected if The microcode version is older than the patched version for this CVE and the CPU is in the affected list
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Check for permission-related audit logsRun 'ausearch -k intel' or check /var/log/audit/audit.log for any access attempts to Intel driver device nodes in /dev or /sysAffected if Any unauthorized access attempts to Intel processor driver interfaces are found in the logs
The system is likely affected if it uses any of the listed Intel Core processor models and is running firmware or microcode prior to the patched version, with the vulnerable Intel kernel driver loaded.
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 the relevant kernel and microcode updates provided by Intel and Linux distribution vendors. Restrict local access to trusted, privileged users only until patches are applied.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-8694 — 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-2020-8694 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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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.
- 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