CVE-2020-8701
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 · uneditedIncorrect default permissions in installer for the Intel(R) SSD Toolbox versions before 2/9/2021 may allow a privileged 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 · moderate confidenceThe Intel(R) SSD Toolbox installer for versions prior to February 9, 2021 sets incorrect default permissions on installed files or directories. A privileged user with local access could exploit these overly permissive file system permissions to modify executable files or configurations, achieving elevation of privilege beyond their current authorized access level.
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< 2021-02-09CVSS 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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/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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Locate Intel SSD Toolbox installationSearch for Intel SSD Toolbox executable in typical installation directories such as C:\Program Files\Intel\Intel(R) SSD Toolbox or C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\Intel(R) SSD Toolbox. Also check the Windows Programs and Features list.Affected if The software is present on the system
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Determine installed version and dateRight-click the Intel SSD Toolbox executable, select Properties, and review the Details tab for version information or file creation/modification date. Compare against February 9, 2021.Affected if The version or file date predates February 9, 2021
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Verify file permissions on installation directoryRight-click the Intel SSD Toolbox installation folder, select Properties, then Security tab. Examine which users and groups have Write or Full Control permissions. Specifically check if standard non-privileged users have write access to executable files (.exe, .dll) or configuration files.Affected if Non-privileged users or groups have Write or Full Control permissions to executable or configuration files in the installation directory
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Check for service binary permissionsOpen Services (services.msc) and look for any Intel SSD Toolbox services. If found, check the service properties for the executable path and verify permissions on that binary and its parent directory.Affected if Intel SSD Toolbox runs as a service and its executable is in a directory with weak permissions
The system is affected if Intel SSD Toolbox was installed prior to February 9, 2021 AND non-privileged users have write access to executable or configuration files in the installation directory or service binary location.
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 data2021-02-09
Update Intel(R) SSD Toolbox to version 2/9/2021 or later. Alternatively, review and manually correct file permissions on existing installations to restrict write access to privileged system files.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-8701 — 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-2020-8701 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
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