What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-8738?

CVE-2020-8738 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.7 (Medium). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.3%.

Bios CVE-2020-8738

MEDIUM

Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions (CWE-754)

2020-11-12 secure@intel.com

Privilege Escalation Intel Cloud Backup Bios Hci Compute Node Bios Fas Aff Bios Hci Storage Node Bios Solidfire Bios Netapp

6.7

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-754 OWASP Top 10:2025 A10:2025 - Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions ASVS 5.0 V16 - Security Logging and Error Handling Unusual condition handling
Impact	CVSS score of 6.7 (MEDIUM). Attack characteristics: local attack vector, low complexity, high privileges required, no user interaction not required.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	Successful exploitation could compromise the medium-severity affected system.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).

No patch listed yet 0.3% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

Improper conditions check in Intel BIOS platform sample code for some Intel(R) Processors before may allow a privileged user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Apply vendor patches when available. Implement network segmentation and monitoring as interim mitigations.

Affects your stack

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Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-754. Improper conditions check in Intel BIOS platform sample code for some Intel(R) Processors before may allow a privileged user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access. Affected products include: Intel Bios, Netapp Cloud Backup, Netapp Fas\/Aff Bios, Netapp Hci Compute Node Bios, Netapp Hci Storage Node Bios.

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Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 6.7 MEDIUM

AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

High

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

DescriptionNVD

Improper conditions check in Intel BIOS platform sample code for some Intel(R) Processors before may allow a privileged user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score

0.3%

Top 75% exploitable

Data Quality

2 sources

Confidence: Low

NVD

CVE.org

EPSS

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue

Severity MEDIUM

CISA KEV No

Public POC No

EPSS 0.3%

Patch available No

Active threat No

Deciding rule

MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)

What every action level means

Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.

Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived

Defer

Exploitation· derived

None

System Exposure· derived

Small

Automatable· derived

Human Impact· derived

Medium

Priority Score

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: 0

EPSS: 0

CVSS: +34

PoC: 0

Weaponized: 0

Threat intel: 0

Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Privilege Escalation HIGH

Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.