Which versions of Intel QuickAssist Technology are affected by CVE-2026-20714?

Intel QuickAssist Technology (QAT) drivers for Windows contain a local privilege escalation vulnerability (CVSS 8.5) affecting authenticated users on systems running versions before 1.13.

How to fix or mitigate CVE-2026-20714?

Within 24 hours: Inventory Windows systems deploying Intel QAT drivers and document current versions (particularly those before 1.13). Within 7 days: Implement compensating controls on identified systems (restrict local console/RDP access, enforce least-privilege user policies) and deploy EDR-based monitoring for privilege escalation exploitation attempts. Within 30 days: Establish ongoing monitoring of Intel security advisories for patch release and prepare a staged upgrade plan targeting QAT driver version 1.13 or later once available, prioritizing systems with high user populations or critical workloads.

Intel QuickAssist Technology CVE-2026-20714

Q: What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-20714?

CVE-2026-20714 has a CVSS 4.0 base score of 8.5 (High). CVSS vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.0%.

EUVD-2026-29545 HIGH

Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787)

2026-05-12 secure@intel.com

GHSA-mc9j-wv93-6vr5

Privilege Escalation Buffer Overflow Memory Corruption Microsoft Intel Quickassist Technology

8.5

CVSS 4.0 · NVD

Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY

8.5 HIGH

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

vuln.today AI

7.8 HIGH

Local authenticated user (AV:L, PR:L) with low-complexity, no-interaction trigger of an out-of-bounds write yielding full C/I/A impact on the same system, so scope unchanged.

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

4.0 AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from NVD.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Lifecycle Timeline

Analysis Generated

Jul 23, 2026 - 23:20 vuln.today

CVE Published

May 12, 2026 - 18:16 nvd

HIGH 8.5

DescriptionCVE.org

Out-of-bounds write for some Intel(R) QAT software drivers for Windows before version 1.13 within Ring 3: User Applications may allow a escalation of privilege. Unprivileged software adversary with an authenticated user combined with a low complexity attack may enable escalation of privilege. This result may potentially occur via local access when attack requirements are not present without special internal knowledge and requires no user interaction. The potential vulnerability may impact the confidentiality (high), integrity (high) and availability (high) of the vulnerable system, resulting in subsequent system confidentiality (none), integrity (none) and availability (none) impacts.

AnalysisAI

Local privilege escalation in Intel QuickAssist Technology (QAT) software drivers for Windows before version 1.13 lets an authenticated, unprivileged local user escalate to higher privileges via an out-of-bounds write (CWE-787) in Ring 3 user-application code. The flaw carries a CVSS 4.0 base score of 8.5 with total technical impact but is not known to be exploited - CISA's SSVC framework rates exploitation as 'none' and EPSS is negligible at 0.01% (3rd percentile), with no public exploit identified at time of analysis.

Technical ContextAI

Intel QuickAssist Technology is a hardware accelerator (delivered via CPU/chipset or add-in adapters) that offloads symmetric/asymmetric cryptography and data compression; on Windows it is exposed to applications through the QAT software driver stack. The vulnerability is a CWE-787 out-of-bounds write occurring within the Ring 3 (user-mode) application interface of these drivers, meaning memory beyond an intended buffer boundary is written, corrupting adjacent memory. The single affected CPE is cpe:2.3:a:intel:quickassist_technology:*:*:*:*:*:windows:*:*, scoping this specifically to the Windows QAT software driver family rather than the underlying hardware or Linux drivers. Out-of-bounds writes of this kind are a classic memory-corruption primitive that, when reachable from a lower-privileged context, can be steered into controlled writes and ultimately privilege escalation.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patch: version 1.13 - upgrade the Intel QAT software drivers for Windows to version 1.13 or later, per Intel advisory INTEL-SA-01387 (https://intel.com/content/www/us/en/security-center/advisory/intel-sa-01387.html). No vendor workaround is published in the available data; because the flaw is a local privilege escalation reachable only by authenticated users, interim compensating controls should focus on limiting who can run code on affected hosts: restrict local/interactive logon rights on servers carrying QAT drivers, remove the QAT driver package from hosts that do not actually use QAT acceleration (side effect: loss of hardware crypto/compression offload and a fallback to software paths with reduced throughput), and monitor for unexpected process crashes or memory-corruption indicators tied to the QAT driver interface. Prioritize patching where QAT is in production use, but treat as scheduled rather than emergency given the low exploitation likelihood.