# CVE-2020-12336: Privilege escalation in Intel(R) NUCs

> An authenticated local attacker can escalate privileges due to insecure default variable initialization in Intel NUC firmware.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 12 Nov 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-ghrw-v987-jh96

## What is CVE-2020-12336?

CVE-2020-12336 is a high-severity vulnerability in Intel(R) NUCs, published on 12 Nov 2020. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Insecure default variable initialization in firmware for some Intel(R) NUCs may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access.

Weakness: CWE-1188 (Initialization of a Resource with an Insecure Default)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-12336?

It affects 23 products.


Products: Intel Nuc 8 Mainstream-G Kit Nuc8i5inh Firmware, Intel Nuc 8 Mainstream-G Kit Nuc8i7inh Firmware, Intel Nuc 8 Mainstream-G Mini Pc Nuc8i5inh Firmware, Intel Nuc 8 Mainstream-G Mini Pc Nuc8i7inh Firmware, Intel Nuc 8 Pro Board Nuc8i3pnb Firmware, Intel Nuc 8 Pro Kit Nuc8i3pnh Firmware, Intel Nuc 8 Pro Kit Nuc8i3pnk Firmware, Intel Nuc 8 Pro Mini Pc Nuc8i3pnk Firmware, Intel Nuc 8 Rugged Kit Nuc8cchkr Firmware, Intel Nuc 9 Pro Kit Nuc9v7qnx Firmware, Intel Nuc 9 Pro Kit Nuc9vxqnx Firmware, Intel Nuc Board H27002-400 Firmware, Intel Nuc Board H27002-401 Firmware, Intel Nuc Board H27002-402 Firmware, Intel Nuc Board H27002-404 Firmware, Intel Nuc Board H27002-500 Firmware, Intel Nuc Board Nuc8cchb Firmware, Intel Nuc Kit H26998-401 Firmware, Intel Nuc Kit H26998-402 Firmware, Intel Nuc Kit H26998-403 Firmware and 3 more.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-12336?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-12336 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-12336 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-12336 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Intel(R) NUCs

- [CVE-2021-33164](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-33164/): Privilege escalation in Intel(R) NUCs (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2020-24525](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-24525/): Privilege escalation in Intel(R) NUCs (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2023-29495](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-29495/): Privilege escalation in Intel NUC BIOS firmware (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2023-28722](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-28722/): Privilege escalation in Intel NUC BIOS firmware (medium 6.7)
- [CVE-2020-12337](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-12337/): Privilege escalation in Intel(R) NUCs (medium 6.7)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-12336 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-12336 is a high-severity vulnerability in Intel(R) NUCs, published on 12 Nov 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-2020-12336 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Intel(R) NUCs. 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-2020-12336/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-12336/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-12336
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-12336
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-12336

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-12336/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.