Memory Buffer Bounds ErrorWeakness · CWE-119

CVE-2025-20005

MEDIUM · 5.6 CVSS v4.0 Published 2026-03-10

Mitigation only

No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.

See remediation →

58/100

Remediation priority · Elevated

Zero-click

Official description

NVD · unedited

Improper buffer restrictions in some UEFI firmware for some Intel(R) reference platforms may allow an escalation of privilege. System software adversary with a privileged user combined with a high complexity attack may enable data manipulation. This result may potentially occur via local access when attack requirements are not present without special internal knowledge and requires no user interaction. The potential vulnerability may impact the confidentiality (none), integrity (high) and availability (low) of the vulnerable system, resulting in subsequent system confidentiality (none), integrity (none) and availability (none) impacts.

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

This is a UEFI firmware vulnerability in Intel reference platforms involving improper buffer restrictions. It allows a privileged system software adversary to achieve escalation of privilege and data manipulation through local access with high attack complexity and no user interaction.

MitigationApply the Intel UEFI firmware update for affected platforms once released. Given the firmware-level nature and high integrity impact, organizations should prioritize patching and verify update integrity through vendor-provided cryptographic signatures.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

CVSS breakdown

From the vector

Attack vector: Local
Complexity: High
Privileges: High
Authentication: X
User interaction: None
Scope: X

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

Am I affected?

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

Identify the Intel platform model

Run 'dmidecode -s system-product-name' or check BIOS/UEFI setup screen for the system model name. Intel reference platforms typically show as 'Reference Board' or similar OEM designations.

Affected if The system is an Intel reference platform (not a retail commercial product with its own firmware branch)
Determine the installed UEFI firmware version

Run 'dmidecode -s bios-version' or access UEFI Setup > Main/Information to view the BIOS/UEFI firmware revision string.

Affected if The displayed firmware version falls within an unpatched release branch for the identified platform
Check UEFI variable store integrity

From an elevated command prompt, run 'bcdedit /enum firmware' to enumerate firmware boot entries, or use 'fwutil.sh firmware version' if available on the system.

Affected if Firmware variables show unexpected modifications or the firmware version cannot be verified against Intel's published patch level
Verify secure boot configuration

Access UEFI Setup > Secure Boot and confirm Secure Boot is enabled, or run 'sbctl status' (Linux) or 'Get-SecureBootUEFI' (Windows PowerShell) from an OS with admin rights.

Affected if Secure Boot is disabled or shows a configuration mismatch indicating potential firmware tampering

The system is affected if it is an Intel reference platform running a UEFI firmware version that has not been patched to the corrected release; firmware-level detection requires version comparison against Intel's advisory and verification of firmware integrity controls.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Remediation

From vendor data

Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime

Mitigation

Apply the Intel UEFI firmware update for affected platforms once released. Given the firmware-level nature and high integrity impact, organizations should prioritize patching and verify update integrity through vendor-provided cryptographic signatures.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory

Consultation4.0 h
Implementation8.0 h
Testing6.0 h
Review / QA4.0 h

22.0 hours of engineering $3,860

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Scan for this in your stack

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References

Primary sources

intel.com
nvd.nist.govNVD record

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-20005 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2025-20005?

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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What this is

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.

What belongs here

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

At a glance

A fix existsA vendor remedy is published

Severity 5.6 Medium

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 0.1%

Remediation

Need this fixed?

Have this fixed 22 hrs · Moderate

Typical engagement from $3,860

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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.

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.

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.

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.

Check your environment

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.

Scan for this in your stack

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

CVSS breakdown

Am I affected?

Remediation

References