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Amt Ac 8260 FirmwareOperating system · Intel

CVE-2021-0072

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-02-09
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.8.90 / 12.0.85 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

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
Improper input validation in firmware for some Intel(R) PROSet/Wireless Wi-Fi in multiple operating systems and some Killer(TM) Wi-Fi in Windows 10 and 11 may allow a privileged user to potentially enable information disclosure 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
How this class of weakness works · CWE-20

The application accepts input without confirming it is well-formed or within expected bounds, so malformed data can push the program into states its author never anticipated. Attackers probe these gaps to trigger crashes, bypass logic, or feed tainted values into more dangerous operations downstream. Remediating it well means validating and normalising every input at the boundary against a strict allow-list — not merely filtering known-bad values.

General guidance for the improper input validation class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

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
Amt Ac 8260 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 11.8.90
Amt Ac 8265 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 11.8.90
Amt Ac 9260 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 12.0.85
Amt Ac 9560 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 12.0.85
Amt Wi Fi 6 Ax200 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 12.0.85>= 14.0.0, < 14.1.60>= 15.0.0, < 15.0.35
Amt Wi Fi 6 Ax201 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:>= 14.0.0, < 14.1.60>= 15.0.0, < 15.0.35
Amt Wi Fi 6 Ax210 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 15.0.35
Proset Ac 3165 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 22.60

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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 11.8.90 / 12.0.85 / 14.1.60 or later
Fixed in 11.8.9012.0.8514.1.60
Vendor patch www.intel.com →
Recommended fix High confidence

Firmware version 11.8.90 (for 8260/8265), 12.0.85 (for 9260/9560 and Ax200), 14.1.60 (for Ax200/Ax201 in 14.x branch), 15.0.35 (for Ax200/Ax201/Ax210 in 15.x branch), or 22.60 (for 3165) depending on the specific adapter model

  1. 1. Identify the exact wireless adapter model in the affected system (e.g., Intel AX200, AX201, AX210, or Killer Wi-Fi variant)
  2. 2. Visit the Intel support website or the system manufacturer support page to obtain the correct firmware version for the specific adapter
  3. 3. Download the appropriate firmware update package for the identified adapter
  4. 4. Follow the system manufacturer's instructions for updating the wireless firmware, which typically involves running the provided update utility or using Intel's PROSet/Wireless software
  5. 5. Verify the firmware version has been updated to one of the fixed versions: 11.8.90 or higher for 8260/8265; 12.0.85 or higher for 9260/9560; 14.1.60 or higher (for 14.x branch) or 15.0.35 or higher (for 15.x branch) for Ax200/Ax201; 15.0.35 or higher for Ax210; 22.60 or higher for 3165
Caveat Firmware updates may require system restart and should be performed according to manufacturer instructions; ensure power is not interrupted during the update process

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $1,600. Get the upgrade done

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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-2021-0072 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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