CVE-2021-0156
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 the firmware for some Intel(R) Processors may allow an authenticated 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 confidenceThis is a firmware-level vulnerability in certain Intel processors involving improper input validation. An authenticated user with local access to the system can exploit this input validation flaw to elevate their privileges beyond their assigned permissions, potentially gaining administrator or root-level control.
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 your processor modelRun 'lscpu' or check system BIOS information to list the installed CPU model. For Intel systems, also use 'dmidecode -t processor' or check the BIOS/UEFI setup screen.Affected if The processor model matches one of these: 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. Any of these processors are affected at all firmware versions.
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Check NetApp Cloud Backup installationRun 'netapp cloud backup --version' or check the installed package version through the NetApp support portal or the system's software package manager.Affected if NetApp Cloud Backup is installed. The advisory states all versions are affected.
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Check NetApp FAS/AFF BIOS versionAccess the NetApp storage system via SSH or console and run 'system firmware get' or check the BIOS version through the BMC/UEFI interface. Use 'system node firmware versions' to list firmware components.Affected if A NetApp FAS or AFF storage system is running with BIOS firmware. The advisory lists all BIOS versions as affected.
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Verify local authentication statusConfirm that user accounts exist on the system. This vulnerability requires an authenticated local user to exploit. Check for local user accounts with 'whoami', 'id', or on NetApp systems 'useradmin user list'.Affected if Local user accounts are present on the system. The exploit requires an authenticated local user to leverage the input validation flaw.
Your environment is affected if you run any of the listed Intel Xeon processors (3206r, 5218r, 5220r, 6208u, 6226r, 6230r) with any firmware version, or if you run NetApp Cloud Backup or NetApp FAS/AFF systems with any BIOS version, and you have local user accounts that could potentially exploit the privilege escalation.
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/BIOS update provided by Intel for affected processors. Verify with Intel's processor compatibility lists and test thoroughly in a staging environment before production deployment.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-0156 — 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-2021-0156 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