CVE-2020-8755
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 · uneditedRace condition in subsystem for Intel(R) CSME versions before 12.0.70 and 14.0.45, Intel(R) SPS versions before E5_04.01.04.400 and E3_05.01.04.200 may allow an unauthenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via physical 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 confidenceA race condition in Intel CSME and SPS firmware subsystems allows an unauthenticated attacker with physical access to potentially escalate privileges. The vulnerability affects CSME versions before 12.0.70/14.0.45 and SPS versions before E5_04.01.04.400/E3_05.01.04.200.
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< 12.0.70>= 14.0.0, < 14.0.45< e5_04.01.04.400< e3_05.01.04.200CVSS 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
- Physical
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:H/PR:N/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 CSME firmware is presentCheck system BIOS/UEFI setup under 'Intel(R) ME' or 'Intel(R) CSME' firmware version, or run 'dmidecode -s bios-version' to see BIOS version which may contain CSME infoAffected if System uses Intel CSME firmware (most consumer and some enterprise Intel systems)
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Determine installed CSME versionUse Intel MEInfo tool (part of Intel ME System Tools) via command 'MEInfo.exe -verbose' on Windows or './MEInfo -verbose' on Linux, or check via Intel Management Engine Interface (MEI) driverAffected if CSME version displayed is below 12.0.70 or between 14.0.0 and 14.0.44 inclusive
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Identify if Intel SPS firmware is presentCheck system for Intel Server Platform Services firmware - typically on server platforms. Use Intel SPS Firmware Update Utility or check via IPMI/DRAM informationAffected if System uses Intel SPS firmware (typically Intel server platforms)
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Determine installed SPS versionUse Intel SPS firmware tools or check via BMC/IPMI interfaces: 'ipmitool raw' commands or SPSInfo tool from Intel Server Platform Services toolsAffected if SPS version is below E5_04.01.04.400 or below E3_05.01.04.200
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Confirm vulnerability preconditionsVerify that physical access to the system is possible (the attacker needs physical access to exploit the race condition)Affected if Physical access to the vulnerable system is achievable by an attacker
System is affected if Intel CSME firmware version is below 12.0.70 or between 14.0.0 and 14.0.44, OR Intel SPS version is below E5_04.01.04.400 or below E3_05.01.04.200, and attacker has physical access capability.
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 data12.0.7014.0.45
Apply Intel firmware updates to patched versions (CSME 12.0.70/14.0.45+ or SPS E5_04.01.04.400/E3_05.01.04.200+). This is a firmware-level patch requiring system reboot and must be obtained from Intel or original equipment manufacturer.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-8755 — 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-2020-8755 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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