# CVE-2020-8705: Misconfiguration in Intel(R) Boot Guard, Intel(R) CSME, Intel(R) TXE, Intel(R) SPS

> Insecure default initialization in Intel Boot Guard allows unauthenticated users with physical access to escalate privileges.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **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-xpc3-gf76-6g72

## What is CVE-2020-8705?

CVE-2020-8705 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Intel(R) Boot Guard, Intel(R) CSME, Intel(R) TXE, Intel(R) SPS, 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 initialization of resource in Intel(R) Boot Guard in Intel(R) CSME versions before 11.8.80, 11.12.80, 11.22.80, 12.0.70, 13.0.40, 13.30.10, 14.0.45 and 14.5.25, Intel(R) TXE versions before 3.1.80 and 4.0.30, Intel(R) SPS versions before E5_04.01.04.400, E3_04.01.04.200, SoC-X_04.00.04.200 and SoC-A_04.00.04.300 may allow an unauthenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privileges via physical access.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-8705?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Intel Converged Security and Manageability Engine, Intel Server Platform Services, Intel Trusted Execution Technology.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-8705?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-8705 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-8705 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-8705 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Intel(R) Boot Guard, Intel(R) CSME, Intel(R) TXE, Intel(R) SPS

- [CVE-2020-12297](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-12297/): Privilege escalation in Intel(R) CSME, Intel TXE (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2020-12303](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-12303/): Use after free in Intel(R) CSME, Intel(R) TXE (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2020-24516](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-24516/): Privilege escalation in Intel(R) CSME versions (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2020-8745](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8745/): Privilege escalation in Intel(R) CSME, Intel(R) TXE (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2020-8703](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8703/): Privilege escalation in Intel(R) CSME versions (medium 6.7)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-8705 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-8705 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Intel(R) Boot Guard, Intel(R) CSME, Intel(R) TXE, Intel(R) SPS, 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-2020-8705 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Intel(R) Boot Guard, Intel(R) CSME, Intel(R) TXE, Intel(R) SPS. 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-2020-8705/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8705/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-8705
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-8705
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-8705

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-8705/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.