dbcve.org
BiosOperating system · Intel

CVE-2020-8739

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-11-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

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 · unedited
Use of potentially dangerous function in Intel BIOS platform sample code for some Intel(R) Processors 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 · moderate confidence

This vulnerability exists in Intel BIOS platform sample code for certain Intel processors. It involves the use of a potentially dangerous function (likely an unsafe string or system function) that allows an authenticated local user to escalate privileges. The attack requires local access and valid authentication, but successful exploitation yields elevated privileges.

MitigationApply BIOS/firmware updates provided by Intel and your system OEM. Since this is a firmware-level vulnerability in sample code, the fix must come from Intel and be deployed through OEM BIOS updates. Prioritize systems where local privileged access is a concern.

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
BiosOperating system
Affected:all versions
Aff BiosOperating system
Affected:all versions
Fas BiosOperating system
Affected:all versions
Hci Compute Node BiosOperating system
Affected:all versions
Hci Storage Node BiosOperating system
Affected:all versions
Solidfire BiosOperating system
Affected:all versions

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the system BIOS version
    On the target system, run 'dmidecode -s bios-version' or check the BIOS/UEFI setup utility for the BIOS firmware version. On NetApp systems, you can also use 'system node run -node <nodename> -command "sysconfig -a"' or check via the BMC/IPMI interface.
    Affected if The BIOS version cannot be determined or is present on any Intel-based system listed in affected products.
  2. Confirm the hardware vendor and model
    Run 'dmidecode -s system-manufacturer' and 'dmidecode -s system-product-name' to identify the system vendor and model. For NetApp systems, use 'system show -fields model' or check the hardware sticker/label on the chassis.
    Affected if The system is an Intel-based platform or any NetApp product listed (Aff, Fas, Hci Compute Node, Hci Storage Node, Solidfire).
  3. Verify the Intel processor in use
    Run 'dmidecode -s processor-family' or 'lscpu | grep "Model name"' to identify the Intel processor family. Check Intel's documentation for processors that include the affected platform sample code.
    Affected if The system uses an Intel processor that falls within the processor families that include the vulnerable BIOS sample code.
  4. Check for local authenticated user access
    Review system user accounts and permissions using 'whoami', 'id', and check '/etc/passwd' (Linux) or 'net user' (Windows) to identify users with local access.
    Affected if There are local authenticated users on the system who could potentially trigger the privilege escalation.
  5. Inspect BIOS/firmware update status
    Compare your current BIOS/firmware version against the latest version available from Intel and your OEM vendor. Check the vendor's security advisory for version information.
    Affected if The installed BIOS/firmware version is older than the latest patched version released by Intel/OEM, or if no patch has been applied.

A system is affected if it runs an Intel BIOS or one of the listed NetApp BIOS products, has local authenticated users, and the BIOS/firmware has not been updated to a patched version.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply BIOS/firmware updates provided by Intel and your system OEM. Since this is a firmware-level vulnerability in sample code, the fix must come from Intel and be deployed through OEM BIOS updates. Prioritize systems where local privileged access is a concern.

Fix this in Bios Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,080
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,928.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-8739 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-8739 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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