# CVE-2020-0526: Privilege escalation in Intel(R) NUC Firmware

> A privileged local user can escalate privileges in Intel NUC firmware due to improper input validation.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.7 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 12 Mar 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-q895-6jw5-rqjr

## What is CVE-2020-0526?

CVE-2020-0526 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Intel(R) NUC Firmware, published on 12 Mar 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Improper input validation in firmware for Intel(R) NUC may allow a privileged user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access. The list of affected products is provided in intel-sa-00343: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/security-center/advisory/intel-sa-00343.html

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-0526?

It affects 70 products.


Products: Intel Compute Stick Stck1a32wfc Firmware, Intel Compute Stick Stck1a8lfc Firmware, Intel Compute Stick Stk1a32sc Firmware, Intel Compute Stick Stk1aw32sc Firmware, Intel Compute Stick Stk2m364cc Firmware, Intel Compute Stick Stk2m3w64cc Firmware, Intel Nuc 7 Enthusiast Pc Nuc7i7bnhxg Firmware, Intel Nuc 7 Essential Pc Nuc7cjysal Firmware, Intel Nuc 7 Home a Mini Pc Nuc7i3bnhxf Firmware, Intel Nuc 7 Home a Mini Pc Nuc7i5bnhxf Firmware, Intel Nuc 7 Home a Mini Pc Nuc7i5bnkp Firmware, Intel Nuc 8 Business Pc Nuc8i7hnkqc Firmware, Intel Nuc 8 Enthusiast Pc Nuc8i7bekqa Firmware, Intel Nuc 8 Home Pc Nuc8i3cysm Firmware, Intel Nuc 8 Mainstream-G Kit Nuc8i5inh Firmware, Intel Nuc 8 Mainstream-G Kit Nuc8i7inh Firmware, Intel Nuc 8 Mainstream-G Mini Pc Nuc8i7inh Firmware, Intel Nuc 8 Rugged Kit Nuc8cchkr Firmware, Intel Nuc Board D34010wyb Firmware, Intel Nuc Board D54250wyb Firmware and 50 more.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-0526?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-0526 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-0526 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-0526 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Intel(R) NUC Firmware

- [CVE-2020-0600](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-0600/): Privilege escalation in Intel(R) NUC Firmware (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2020-0530](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-0530/): Memory corruption in Intel(R) NUC Firmware (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-0526 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-0526 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Intel(R) NUC Firmware, published on 12 Mar 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-0526 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Intel(R) NUC Firmware. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-0526/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-0526/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0526
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-0526
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-0526

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-0526/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.