CVE-2020-8750
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 · uneditedUse after free in Kernel Mode Driver for Intel(R) TXE versions before 3.1.80 and 4.0.30 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 · high confidenceUse-after-free vulnerability in Intel TXE (Trusted Execution Engine) kernel-mode driver versions prior to 3.1.80 and 4.0.30 allows a local authenticated attacker to potentially escalate privileges by exploiting freed memory still referenced by a pointer.
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< 3.1.80>= 4.0, < 4.0.30CVSS 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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Verify Intel TXE hardware is presentCheck system information or use Intel tools to determine if the system contains Intel Trusted Execution Engine. This is typically found on business-class systems with Intel vPro, AMT, or specific PCH chipsets. Consult system BIOS/UEFI or use `dmidecode` on Linux to query platform information.Affected if System does not have Intel TXE hardware - not affected. If TXE is present, continue to version check.
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Retrieve Intel TXE firmware versionUse Intel firmware version detection tools such as the Intel Management Engine (ME) Info tool, Intel TXE firmware version tool, or system-specific firmware update utilities. On Windows, check Intel TXE driver details in Device Manager under System devices. On Linux, some systems expose this via `intel_txe_sel` or similar Intel firmware tools.Affected if Unable to determine TXE firmware version - status unknown, further investigation needed.
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Compare TXE version against vulnerable rangesCheck if the installed TXE firmware version falls into these vulnerable ranges: version 3.x prior to 3.1.80, or version 4.0.x prior to 4.0.30. Note the major version branch (3.x or 4.x) and compare the full version number.Affected if TXE version is < 3.1.80 in the 3.x branch, OR TXE version is >= 4.0 but < 4.0.30 - system is affected by this vulnerability.
The system is affected only if Intel TXE hardware is present AND the installed TXE firmware version is either less than 3.1.80 (for 3.x branch) or greater than or equal to 4.0 but less than 4.0.30.
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 data3.1.804.0.30
Update Intel TXE firmware to version 3.1.80 or 4.0.30 or later through Intel's firmware update mechanisms.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-8750 — 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-2020-8750 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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