CVE-2021-0116
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 · uneditedOut-of-bounds write in the firmware for some Intel(R) Processors may allow a privileged user to potentially enable an 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 confidenceAn out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in the firmware of certain Intel processors. A user who already has privileged access can exploit this memory corruption flaw to escalate their privileges further, potentially gaining complete control over the system.
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 dataall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsCVSS 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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Identify the processor modelRun 'lscpu' or 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' to view CPU details. Look for model names such as Intel Xeon Bronze 3206r, Intel Xeon Gold 5218r, Intel Xeon Gold 5220r, Intel Xeon Gold 6208u, Intel Xeon Gold 6226r, or Intel Xeon Gold 6230r.Affected if The processor is any of these specific Xeon models and the firmware has not been updated to a patched version.
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Check the system BIOS/firmware versionRun 'dmidecode -s bios-version' or use vendor-specific tools (e.g., Intel System Debugger, OEM BIOS update utilities) to retrieve the current BIOS/firmware version for the processor.Affected if The firmware version is older than the patched version provided by Intel or the OEM, or if the system shows 'all versions' as affected with no update applied.
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Verify Netapp Cloud Backup installationRun 'netapp cloud backup --version' or check the installed package manager for Netapp Cloud Backup to confirm if it is present.Affected if Netapp Cloud Backup is installed (all versions are affected).
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Check Netapp FAS/AFF BIOS versionAccess the Netapp storage system via CLI (run 'system node firmware -target bios' or check via OnCommand System Manager) to view the current BIOS version.Affected if The Netapp FAS/AFF system BIOS is not at a patched version provided by Netapp.
If the system uses any of the listed Intel Xeon processor models (3206r, 5218r, 5220r, 6208u, 6226r, 6230r) or runs Netapp Cloud Backup or Netapp FAS/AFF BIOS, and the firmware has not been patched, the environment is affected.
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 dataApply the Intel processor firmware update (microcode/BIOS update) from Intel or the system OEM. Consult Intel's product security advisories for the specific affected processor models and corresponding patches.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-0116 — 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-2021-0116 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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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.
- 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