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Improper Access ControlWeakness · CWE-284

CVE-2025-20100

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

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 access control in the memory controller configurations for some Intel(R) Xeon(R) 6 processor with E-cores may allow a privileged user to potentially enable 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 confidence

This vulnerability involves improper access control in the memory controller configurations of Intel Xeon 6 processors with E-cores. A privileged local user can potentially exploit this to escalate their privileges, likely by accessing or modifying memory controller settings they should not have permission to modify.

MitigationApply Intel-provided firmware/BIOS updates for Xeon 6 processors with E-cores once available. Review and restrict local administrative access to systems running affected processors.

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

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
High
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/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 checks

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

  1. Identify the processor model
    Run 'wmic cpu get name,numberofcores,numberoflogicalprocessors' on Windows or 'cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep -E "model name|cpu cores"' on Linux. Look for "Xeon 6" or "Intel(R) Xeon(R)" followed by a 6-series designation.
    Affected if The processor is an Intel Xeon 6 processor with E-cores (efficient cores). E-cores indicate a hybrid architecture with both performance (P-cores) and efficiency (E-cores) cores.
  2. Confirm hybrid core architecture
    Check system information for core type differentiation. On Windows, use 'wmic cpu get description' or check BIOS settings for P-core/E-core enumeration. On Linux, examine 'lscpu' output for 'CPU(s):' topology showing multiple core types, or check '/sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/topology/' for core type indicators.
    Affected if The system shows a hybrid architecture with both P-cores and E-cores, confirming the Xeon 6 with E-cores variant.
  3. Check firmware/BIOS version
    On Windows, run 'wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion' or check via 'msinfo32'. On Linux, run 'dmidecode -s bios-version' or check '/sys/class/dmi/id/bios_version' if available. Record the current firmware version for comparison against Intel-provided fixes when released.
    Affected if The firmware/BIOS version is earlier than the corrected version Intel releases for this vulnerability. No fixed version is currently listed in available CVE data.
  4. Review memory controller access controls
    On Windows, check 'secpol.msc' -> Local Policies -> User Rights Assignment for any modifications to privileges affecting hardware configuration access. On Linux, review '/etc/security/permissions' or equivalent. Look for any non-standard users or groups granted access to memory controller or hardware management utilities.
    Affected if Non-administrative users or unauthorized groups have been granted permissions to modify memory controller or hardware configuration settings.
  5. Audit local user privileges
    On Windows, run 'net user' and 'net localgroup administrators' to list all users with administrative privileges. On Linux, check '/etc/passwd' for users in 'sudo' or 'wheel' groups, and run 'who' to see currently logged in users.
    Affected if There are multiple local users with administrative or elevated privileges beyond what is strictly required, increasing the attack surface for a privileged local user to exploit this flaw.
  6. Check for memory controller utility logs
    On Windows, examine Event Viewer -> Windows Logs -> System for entries related to memory controller, IMC, or hardware configuration changes. On Linux, check '/var/log/syslog' or 'dmesg' for memory controller configuration events. Look for unauthorized or unexpected memory settings modifications.
    Affected if There are log entries showing memory controller configuration changes made by users other than designated administrators, or changes occurring outside of expected maintenance windows.

A system is affected if it runs an Intel Xeon 6 processor with E-cores and has memory controller configurations accessible to privileged local users beyond what is strictly necessary, allowing potential privilege escalation.

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

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Intel-provided firmware/BIOS updates for Xeon 6 processors with E-cores once available. Review and restrict local administrative access to systems running affected processors.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
40.0 hours of engineering $7,000
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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-2025-20100 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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