# CVE-2021-0154: Privilege escalation in Intel(R) Processors

> A privileged local attacker can exploit improper input validation in Intel processor BIOS firmware to escalate privileges.

- **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 May 2022
- **Updated:** 5 May 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-6vrp-v74q-rxw9

## What is CVE-2021-0154?

CVE-2021-0154 is a high-severity vulnerability in Intel(R) Processors, published on 12 May 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Improper input validation in the BIOS firmware for some Intel(R) Processors may allow a privileged user to potentially enable aescalation of privilege via local access.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-0154?

It affects 253 products.


Products: Intel Core I5-7640x Firmware, Intel Core I7-3820 Firmware, Intel Core I7-3920xm Firmware, Intel Core I7-3930k Firmware, Intel Core I7-3940xm Firmware, Intel Core I7-3960x Firmware, Intel Core I7-3970x Firmware, Intel Core I7-4820k Firmware, Intel Core I7-4930k Firmware, Intel Core I7-4930mx Firmware, Intel Core I7-4940mx Firmware, Intel Core I7-4960x Firmware, Intel Core I7-5820k Firmware, Intel Core I7-5930k Firmware, Intel Core I7-5960x Firmware, Intel Core I7-6800k Firmware, Intel Core I7-6850k Firmware, Intel Core I7-6900k Firmware, Intel Core I7-6950x Firmware, Intel Core I7-7740x Firmware and 233 more.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-0154?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-0154 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-0154 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-0154 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Intel(R) Processors

- [CVE-2022-26006](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-26006/): Privilege escalation in Intel(R) Processors (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2022-38083](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-38083/): Information disclosure in Intel(R) Processors (medium 6.1)
- [CVE-2021-0155](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-0155/): Information disclosure in Intel(R) Processors (medium 5.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-0154 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-0154 is a high-severity vulnerability in Intel(R) Processors, published on 12 May 2022. 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-2021-0154 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-2021-0154/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-0154/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-0154
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-0154
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-0154

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-0154/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.