CVE-2026-20901
No known exploitation. EPSS puts it in the 1st percentile. A vendor fix is available.
What to do
The vendor has published a fix. Version details are below where the sources state them.
What it is
From the CVE record
Improper input validation for some Intel(R) Xeon(R) processors within firmware may allow an escalation of privilege. Startup code and smm adversary with a privileged user combined with a high complexity attack may enable data alteration. This result may potentially occur via local access when attack requirements are present without special internal knowledge and requires no user interaction. The potential vulnerability may impact the confidentiality (none), integrity (none) and availability (none) of the vulnerable system, resulting in subsequent system confidentiality (none), integrity (high) and availability (none) impacts.
In plain language
No plain-language summary for this CVE yet.
Exploitation
Where each signal puts this CVE on the scale from published to confirmed exploited.
- CISA KEV
Not in the catalog. CISA has not confirmed exploitation.
- Public exploits
No public exploit or proof of concept found in the sources we track.
- EPSS
<0.1% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, which ranks it in the 1st percentile of scored CVEs.
Exploit Prediction Scoring System, FIRST.org. A probability, not a confirmation.
Lifecycle
10 events over 17 days, from the signal feeds we watch.
- Patch availablerecord updated
- OpenVAS check added
- Record updatedrecord updated, record updated
- Publishedweakness classified, att&ck mapped, record updated
Affected products
- xeon bronze 3408u firmwareHardware Firmware
- xeon gold 5403n firmwareHardware Firmware / cpu-gpu
- xeon gold 5411n firmwareHardware Firmware
- xeon gold 5412u firmwareHardware Firmware
- xeon gold 5415\+ firmwareHardware Firmware
- xeon platinum 8592\+ firmwareHardware Firmware / cpu-gpu
- xeon platinum 8592v firmwareHardware Firmware / cpu-gpu
- xeon platinum 8593q firmwareHardware Firmware / cpu-gpu
And 134 more affected products. See all after sign-in
Technical detail
CVSS 3.1 vector
Open in the CVSS calculatorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N
Scored 5.3 by NVD.
How it is reached
- Attack Vector LocalRequires local access to the vulnerable system (e.g. local login, malicious file)
- Attack Complexity HighRequires specific conditions like a race condition or non-default configuration
- Privileges Required HighRequires admin or elevated privileges
- User Interaction NoneNo user interaction needed — fully automated exploitation
Scope
- Scope ChangedThe exploit can affect other components (e.g. sandbox escape, host compromise from VM)
Impact if exploited
- Confidentiality NoneNo confidentiality impact
- Integrity HighTotal loss of integrity — attacker can modify any data in the component
- Availability NoneNo availability impact
Weaknesses
ATT&CK techniques
Mapped from the weaknesses above (CWE to ATT&CK), not observed in attacks.
- Initial AccessT1190Exploit Public-Facing Applicationlow confidence
Sources
References in the record
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