dbcve.org
Classic Buffer OverflowWeakness · CWE-120

CVE-2026-20794

CRITICAL · 9.3 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 →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Buffer overflow for the Intel(R) Data Center Graphics Driver for VMware ESXi software before version 2.0.2 within Ring 1: Device Drivers may allow an escalation of privilege. System software adversary with a privileged user combined with a low complexity attack may enable local code execution. 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 (high), integrity (high) and availability (high) of the vulnerable system, resulting in subsequent system confidentiality (high), integrity (high) and availability (high) 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

A buffer overflow vulnerability in the Intel Data Center Graphics Driver for VMware ESXi (versions before 2.0.2) located in Ring 1 (device driver layer) allows a local privileged attacker to achieve code execution with elevated privileges via a low-complexity attack requiring no user interaction.

MitigationUpdate Intel Data Center Graphics Driver for VMware ESXi to version 2.0.2 or later to remediate the buffer overflow vulnerability.

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
Low
Privileges
High
Authentication
X
User interaction
None
Scope
X

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/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 if Intel Data Center Graphics Driver is installed
    On the ESXi host, list installed VIB packages or kernel modules related to Intel graphics. Use 'esxcli software vib list | grep -i intel' or check /usr/lib/vmware/vmkmod/ for intel graphics modules.
    Affected if The Intel Data Center Graphics Driver VIB or module is present on the system
  2. Determine the installed driver version
    Query the installed VIB package version using 'esxcli software vib get' on the intel graphics driver package, or check the driver module version information via vmware-modconfig or similar tools.
    Affected if The driver version cannot be determined or is earlier than 2.0.2
  3. Verify the driver is loaded in the kernel
    Check if the Intel graphics driver module is loaded in the ESXi VMkernel. Use 'esxcli system module list' or check /proc/modules if accessible.
    Affected if The driver module is loaded and active in the ESXi kernel
  4. Confirm the ESXi host version
    Verify the system is running VMware ESXi. Use 'vmware -v' or check the hostd/logs for ESXi-specific indicators.
    Affected if The host is running VMware ESXi with an affected driver version
  5. Compare version against the affected range
    Compare the identified driver version to the affected range. Versions before 2.0.2 are vulnerable. Version 2.0.2 and later are patched.
    Affected if The installed driver version is below 2.0.2

If Intel Data Center Graphics Driver for VMware ESXi is installed with a version lower than 2.0.2, the environment is vulnerable to local privilege escalation via the Ring 1 buffer overflow.

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 Data Center Graphics Driver for VMware ESXi to version 2.0.2 or later to remediate the buffer overflow vulnerability.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Intel Data Center Graphics Driver for VMware ESXi version 2.0.2

  1. 1. Identify the current version of Intel(R) Data Center Graphics Driver for VMware ESXi installed on the affected system.
  2. 2. Download Intel Data Center Graphics Driver for VMware ESXi version 2.0.2 or later from the official Intel support website.
  3. 3. Follow Intel's standard procedure for updating graphics drivers on VMware ESXi, which typically involves placing the host in maintenance mode.
  4. 4. Upload and install the driver update package via VMware Update Manager or esxcli command line tools.
  5. 5. Reboot the ESXi host to complete the driver installation.
  6. 6. Verify the installed driver version is 2.0.2 or later after the system restarts.
  7. 7. Exit maintenance mode and return the host to production.
Caveat Review Intel release notes for any known compatibility issues or dependencies before upgrading

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,220
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,552.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-20794 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2026-20794 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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