CVE-2026-20738: Escalation of Privilege in Intel(R) QuickAssist Adapter 8960 software
Untrusted pointer dereference for some Intel(R) QuickAssist Adapter 8960 software before version 1.13 within Ring 3: User Applications may allow an 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.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
This vulnerability in Intel(R) QuickAssist Adapter 8960 software prior to version 1.13 is caused by an untrusted pointer dereference in user-space applications (Ring 3). An authenticated local user with low attack complexity can exploit this flaw to escalate privileges on the affected system. The CVSS 4.0 vector indicates local attack vector, low complexity, no user interaction, and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The vulnerability does not require special internal knowledge and does not affect cloud services. No official remediation or patch information is currently available.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation could allow an authenticated local user with limited privileges to gain elevated privileges, potentially compromising system confidentiality, integrity, and availability at a high level. However, no known exploits are currently reported in the wild. The vulnerability affects local systems running vulnerable versions of the Intel QuickAssist Adapter 8960 software before version 1.13.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until an official fix is released, restrict local access to trusted users only and monitor for unusual privilege escalation attempts. Avoid running vulnerable versions of the software in untrusted environments.
CVE-2026-20738: Escalation of Privilege in Intel(R) QuickAssist Adapter 8960 software
Description
Untrusted pointer dereference for some Intel(R) QuickAssist Adapter 8960 software before version 1.13 within Ring 3: User Applications may allow an 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.
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
This vulnerability in Intel(R) QuickAssist Adapter 8960 software prior to version 1.13 is caused by an untrusted pointer dereference in user-space applications (Ring 3). An authenticated local user with low attack complexity can exploit this flaw to escalate privileges on the affected system. The CVSS 4.0 vector indicates local attack vector, low complexity, no user interaction, and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The vulnerability does not require special internal knowledge and does not affect cloud services. No official remediation or patch information is currently available.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation could allow an authenticated local user with limited privileges to gain elevated privileges, potentially compromising system confidentiality, integrity, and availability at a high level. However, no known exploits are currently reported in the wild. The vulnerability affects local systems running vulnerable versions of the Intel QuickAssist Adapter 8960 software before version 1.13.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until an official fix is released, restrict local access to trusted users only and monitor for unusual privilege escalation attempts. Avoid running vulnerable versions of the software in untrusted environments.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.2
- Assigner Short Name
- intel
- Date Reserved
- 2025-12-04T04:00:32.857Z
- Cvss Version
- 4.0
- State
- PUBLISHED
- Remediation Level
- null
Threat ID: 6a03656ccbff5d861008d8cd
Added to database: 5/12/2026, 5:37:48 PM
Last enriched: 5/12/2026, 5:51:49 PM
Last updated: 5/13/2026, 4:47:46 AM
Views: 6
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