# CVE-2021-0114: Privilege escalation in Intel(R) Processors

> A privileged local attacker can escalate privileges due to an unchecked return value in Intel processor firmware.

- **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:** 16 Aug 2021
- **Updated:** 8 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-xcg6-8prp-mxmv

## What is CVE-2021-0114?

CVE-2021-0114 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Intel(R) Processors, published on 16 Aug 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Unchecked return value in the firmware for some Intel(R) Processors may allow a privileged user to potentially enable an escalation of privilege via local access.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-0114?

It affects 1064 products.


Products: Intel Atom C3000, Intel Atom C3308, Intel Atom C3336, Intel Atom C3338, Intel Atom C3338r, Intel Atom C3436l, Intel Atom C3508, Intel Atom C3538, Intel Atom C3558, Intel Atom C3558r, Intel Atom C3558rc, Intel Atom C3708, Intel Atom C3750, Intel Atom C3758, Intel Atom C3758r, Intel Atom C3808, Intel Atom C3830, Intel Atom C3850, Intel Atom C3858, Intel Atom C3950 and 1044 more.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-0114?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-0114 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-0114 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-0114 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Intel(R) Processors

- [CVE-2021-0144](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-0144/): Privilege escalation in Intel BSSA DFTrs (medium 6.7)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-0114 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-0114 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Intel(R) Processors, published on 16 Aug 2021. 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-2021-0114 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Intel(R) Processors. 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-2021-0114/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-0114/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-0114
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-0114
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-0114

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-0114/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.