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Incorrect Default PermissionsWeakness · CWE-276

CVE-2026-20718

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v4.0 Published 2026-05-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
54/100
Remediation priority · Moderate

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
Incorrect default permissions for some Intel(R) NPU Driver software installers before version 32.0.100.4511 within Ring 3: User Applications may allow an escalation of privilege. Unprivileged software adversary with an authenticated user combined with a high complexity attack may enable escalation of privilege. This result may potentially occur via local access when attack requirements are present without special internal knowledge and requires active user interaction. The potential vulnerability may impact the confidentiality (high), integrity (high) and availability (high) of the vulnerable system, resulting in subsequent system confidentiality (none), integrity (none) and availability (none) impacts.

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

Intel NPU Driver software installers before version 32.0.100.4511 have incorrect default permissions (likely overly permissive file/folder ACLs) that could allow an unprivileged authenticated attacker to modify driver files and achieve privilege escalation. The attack requires local access, high complexity, and active user interaction.

MitigationUpdate Intel NPU Driver software to version 32.0.100.4511 or later to obtain corrected default permissions. Verify that driver files have appropriate restricted ACLs following the update.

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
Low
Authentication
X
User interaction
A
Scope
X

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:P/PR:L/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/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? 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 Intel NPU Driver installation
    Check for the Intel NPU Driver in Windows Settings > Apps > Installed apps, or query the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup\PnpLockdownFiles or review Device Manager under 'System devices' for 'Intel Neural Processing Unit' or similar NPU device entries
    Affected if Intel NPU Driver is installed on the system
  2. Determine installed driver version
    Right-click the Intel NPU Driver entry in Installed apps and view the version details, or right-click the NPU device in Device Manager, select Properties > Driver tab, and note the Driver Version
    Affected if Version number is present and is lower than 32.0.100.4511 (for example, 32.0.100.1234 or any 31.x.x.x release)
  3. Locate driver installation directory
    In Device Manager, click Driver Details to list the .sys and .dll files used by the NPU driver; note the base installation folder (typically under C:\Program Files\Intel or C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore)
    Affected if Driver files are found in the expected directories
  4. Inspect ACLs on driver folder
    Right-click the driver installation folder in File Explorer, select Properties > Security tab, and click Advanced; review the permission entries for each user/group and verify whether unprivileged accounts or the 'Users' group have Modify, Write, or Full Control permissions rather than only Read and Execute
    Affected if Non-administrative users or the Users group have Write, Modify, or Full Control permissions on the driver folder or its files

If the Intel NPU Driver version is present and below 32.0.100.4511 AND the driver folder or files grant write/modify permissions to unprivileged users, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update Intel NPU Driver software to version 32.0.100.4511 or later to obtain corrected default permissions. Verify that driver files have appropriate restricted ACLs following the update.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Intel NPU Driver version 32.0.100.4511 or later

  1. Identify the current version of Intel(R) NPU Driver installed on the system
  2. Navigate to the official Intel support or download page for Intel NPU Driver software
  3. Download Intel NPU Driver version 32.0.100.4511 or later
  4. Close any applications that may be using the NPU driver
  5. Run the installer with appropriate administrator privileges
  6. Follow the on-screen installation prompts to complete the update
  7. Restart the system if prompted by the installer
  8. Verify the installed driver version matches or exceeds 32.0.100.4511

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2026-20718 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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