CVE-2020-8756
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 · uneditedImproper input validation in subsystem for Intel(R) CSME versions before 11.8.80, 11.12.80, 11.22.80, 12.0.70 and 14.0.45 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 confidenceImproper input validation in Intel CSME (Converged Security and Management Engine) firmware allows a privileged local user to potentially escalate privileges. This is a firmware-level vulnerability affecting specific versions of the CSME subsystem prior to 11.8.80, 11.12.80, 11.22.80, 12.0.70, and 14.0.45.
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< 11.8.80>= 11.12.0, < 11.12.80>= 11.22.0, < 11.22.80>= 12.0, < 12.0.70>= 14.0, < 14.0.45CVSS 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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Confirm Intel CSME firmware is presentIdentify whether the system hardware contains Intel CSME (Converged Security and Management Engine) firmware. Most modern Intel consumer and enterprise systems include this subsystem.Affected if The system lacks Intel CSME firmware entirely, then it is not affected.
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Locate the installed CSME firmware versionRetrieve the current CSME firmware version from the system. This is typically displayed in the BIOS/UEFI setup under the 'Security' or 'Intel Management Engine' section, or can be queried using Intel system diagnostic or firmware version tools.Affected if The version cannot be determined, treat it as potentially vulnerable.
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Compare installed version to affected rangesCheck if the installed version falls into any of these vulnerable ranges: < 11.8.80; >= 11.12.0 and < 11.12.80; >= 11.22.0 and < 11.22.80; >= 12.0 and < 12.0.70; >= 14.0 and < 14.0.45.Affected if The installed version matches any of these ranges, the system is affected by CVE-2020-8756.
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Verify CSME is enabled and accessibleConfirm that the Intel CSME subsystem is enabled in the BIOS/UEFI configuration and accessible to local users. The vulnerability requires a privileged local user to interact with the CSME subsystem.Affected if CSME is disabled or completely isolated such that local privileged users cannot interact with it, the exploit path may not be applicable.
The system is affected if it contains Intel CSME firmware with a version matching any of the vulnerable ranges: < 11.8.80, >= 11.12.0 and < 11.12.80, >= 11.22.0 and < 11.22.80, >= 12.0 and < 12.0.70, or >= 14.0 and < 14.0.45.
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 data11.8.8011.12.8011.22.80
Apply Intel CSME firmware updates to versions 11.8.80+, 11.12.80+, 11.22.80+, 12.0.70+, or 14.0.45+ as appropriate for the hardware platform. This typically requires obtaining the firmware from the system OEM or Intel and applying via Intel Management Engine firmware update tools.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-8756 — 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-2020-8756 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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