CVE-2021-0146
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 · uneditedHardware allows activation of test or debug logic at runtime for some Intel(R) processors which 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 · moderate confidenceIntel processors contain a hardware vulnerability allowing runtime activation of test or debug logic. An unauthenticated attacker with physical access can potentially enable privilege escalation by activating these debug interfaces, bypassing standard authentication mechanisms.
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
- Physical
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/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 the installed processor modelUse system information commands (such as 'lscpu' on Linux, 'systeminfo' on Windows, or check the system's BIOS/UEFI information screen) to determine the exact processor model numberAffected if The processor model matches any of the following: Intel Pentium J6426, J4205, J3710, J2900, J2850 or Intel Celeron J6412, J6413, J4125
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Verify test and debug interface settings in BIOS/UEFIEnter the system's BIOS/UEFI setup (typically by pressing Del, F2, or F12 during boot) and navigate to security or advanced settings. Look for options related to 'Test Mode', 'Debug Mode', 'CPU Debugging', or 'Intel VT-d' settingsAffected if Test or debug interfaces are found to be enabled, or the settings are set to 'Allow' or 'Enabled' rather than 'Disabled'
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Check BIOS version and vendor informationFrom within the operating system, retrieve the BIOS version using commands like 'dmidecode -s bios-version' on Linux or 'wmic bios get version' on Windows. Note the system vendor and BIOS dateAffected if The BIOS firmware has not been updated by the system vendor, or no microcode/firmware patch has been applied (note: all firmware versions listed are affected, so this check confirms the vulnerability exists)
A system is affected if it contains any of the listed Intel Pentium or Celeron J-series processors and has test/debug interfaces enabled in BIOS/UEFI settings, regardless of BIOS version since all versions are vulnerable.
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 Intel processor microcode/firmware updates and ensure BIOS/UEFI settings disable test and debug interfaces. Coordinate with system vendors for BIOS updates that patch this vulnerability.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-0146 — 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-2021-0146 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