# CVE-2020-12912: Information disclosure in AMD extension to Linux "hwmon" for Zen1 platforms

> Attackers can exploit the Linux RAPL interface to perform side-channel attacks and disclose sensitive information.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **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:** Yes
- **Published:** 12 Nov 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2020-12912, GHSA-329v-cj6c-rhmq, UBUNTU-CVE-2020-12912

## What is CVE-2020-12912?

CVE-2020-12912 is a medium-severity vulnerability in AMD extension to Linux "hwmon" for Zen1 platforms, 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

A potential vulnerability in the AMD extension to Linux "hwmon" service may allow an attacker to use the Linux-based Running Average Power Limit (RAPL) interface to show various side channel attacks. In line with industry partners, AMD has updated the RAPL interface to require privileged access.

Weakness: CWE-203 (Observable Discrepancy), CWE-749 (Exposed Dangerous Method or Function)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-12912?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Amd Energy Driver for Linux.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-12912?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2020-12912 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-12912 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-12912 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-12912 is a medium-severity vulnerability in AMD extension to Linux "hwmon" for Zen1 platforms, 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-2020-12912 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: AMD extension to Linux "hwmon" for Zen1 platforms. 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-2020-12912/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-12912/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-12912
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-12912
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-12912

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-12912/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.