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Full vulnerability report · 2020
CVE-2020-0591High confidence

Improper buffer restrictions in BIOS firmware for some Intel(R) Processors may allow a privileged user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access

n/a · Intel(R) Processors

6.7MediumCVSS 3.1
Recommended action
Scheduled

Medium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.

Mitigation available
Direct vendor intelligence

Authoritative vendor CSAF and VEX advisories

Structured product status and remediation from the issuing vendor. Product-state explanations are always visible; large lists can be searched or downloaded.

1 current
SSA-501073 · CSAF 2.0 · revision 2 · finalSiemens ProductCERTSSA-501073: Vulnerabilities in Controllers CPU 1518 MFP using Intel CPUs (November 2020)
2 known affected

The vendor explicitly identifies these products as affected by this CVE.

  • SIMATIC S7-1500 CPU 1518-4 PN/DP MFP (MLFB: 6ES7518-4AX00-1AC0, 6AG1518-4AX00-4AC0, incl. SIPLUS variant)
  • SIMATIC S7-1500 CPU 1518F-4 PN/DP MFP (6ES7518-4FX00-1AC0)
Summary
Improper buffer restrictions in BIOS firmware for some Intel(R) Processors may allow a privileged user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access.
Remediation
Avoid to run untrusted code on affected systems
Optional official sources

National CERT insights
?CERT means Computer Emergency Response Team; CSIRT is the closely related term Computer Security Incident Response Team.

Select the national-authority views to include. The exact source language is shown on each matched advisory. Your choice is remembered on this device and encoded in the shareable URL.

Official European source

ENISA European Vulnerability Database

Official EUVD identifiers, advisory evidence and known-exploited context. Missing fields are not treated as evidence of low risk.

1 current
ENISA EUVD identifier

EUVD-2020-2089

No EUVD known-exploited evidence

ENISA has published the identifier mapping but no EUVD description has been stored yet.

EUVD state
Present in the current official mapping
Known exploitation
Not present in the current ENISA EUVD known-exploited dataset. This is not proof of no exploitation.
ENISA score
Not supplied in the stored EUVD record
Advisory evidence
No linked advisory details stored yet
Recommended actionScheduled

Medium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.

Mitigation available
01

What, why and how

Improper buffer restrictions in BIOS firmware for some Intel(R) Processors may allow a privileged user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access.

What

Improper buffer restrictions in BIOS firmware for some Intel(R) Processors may allow a privileged user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access.

Why

The current structured CVE record identifies a security weakness, but the root cause requires confirmation in the linked vendor material.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with elevated privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

What

Improper buffer restrictions in BIOS firmware for some Intel(R) Processors may allow a privileged user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access.

Why

The current structured CVE record identifies a security weakness, but the root cause requires confirmation in the linked vendor material.

How

An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation with elevated privileges. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.

02

Exploit reality and attack path

CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.

Observed exploitation
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
No confirmed evidence

No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.

Public PoC / exploit material
?Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.
None recorded

No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.

Likely attack path
local access → vulnerable operation → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
Attack surface
Local
Privileges required
High: elevated access is required
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
Security boundary
Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
Weakness
?CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration.
CWE not yet assigned
CVSS vector
?CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Common Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.

AVLocalAttack vector: The attacker needs local access to the vulnerable system.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRHighPrivileges required: The attacker needs elevated or administrative privileges.UINoneUser interaction: No action by another user is required.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.
Post-exploitation / living off the land
The issue can support a local privilege or sandbox boundary transition; normal system utilities may then be available in the gained context.
A

Official authority intelligence

Only matched European and national findings are included. Language selectors and unavailable sources are omitted.

CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2021-AVI-357Multiples vulnérabilités dans les produits Siemens

.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-8261 Référence CVE CVE-2019-8262 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-8262 Référence CVE CVE-2019-8263 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-8263 Référence CVE CVE-2019-8264 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-8264 Référence CVE CVE-2019-8265 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-8265 Référence CVE CVE-2019-8275 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-8275 Référence CVE CVE-2019-8277 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-8277 Référence CVE CVE-2019-8280 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-8280 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0590 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0590 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0591 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0591 Référence CVE CVE-2020-15798 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-15798 Référence CVE CVE-2020-24635 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-24635 Référence CVE CVE-2020-24636 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-24636 Référence CVE CVE-2020-25242 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-25242 Référence CVE CVE-2020-25705 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-25705 Référence CVE CVE-2020-28393 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-28393 Référence CVE CVE-2020-8694 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-8694 Référence CVE CVE-2020-8698 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-

Official advisory
CERT-FR · French · CERTFR-2020-AVI-734Multiples vulnérabilités dans les produits Intel

9 du 10 novembre 2020 https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/security-center/advisory/intel-sa-00439.html Référence CVE CVE-2017-13080 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-13080 Référence CVE CVE-2019-11121 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2019-11121 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0572 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0572 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0584 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0584 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0587 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0587 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0588 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0588 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0590 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0590 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0591 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0591 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0592 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0592 Référence CVE CVE-2020-0593 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-0593 Référence CVE CVE-2020-12309 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-12309 Référence CVE CVE-2020-12310 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-12310 Référence CVE CVE-2020-12311 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-12311 Référence CVE CVE-2020-12312 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-12312 Référence CVE CVE-2020-12313 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-12313 Référence CVE CVE-2020-12314 https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2

Official advisory
03

Patch and workaround

Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.

Status
?Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Mitigation available
Affected
SIMATIC S7-1500 CPU 1518-4 PN/DP MFP (MLFB: 6ES7518-4AX00-1AC0, 6AG1518-4AX00-4AC0, incl. SIPLUS variant); SIMATIC S7-1500 CPU 1518F-4 PN/DP MFP (6ES7518-4FX00-1AC0)
Fixed
No fixed version is explicitly recorded in the structured CVE data.
Action
No verified patch reference is present in the current structured sources. Check the vendor advisory before making a change.
Workaround
Avoid to run untrusted code on affected systems
04

Evidence and provenance

Published 12 Nov 2020 · Last source change 4 Aug 2024, 06:11 UTC · CWE not yet assigned

CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceNIST NVD
EPSS source
?The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.
FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-14
European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2020-2089
Product sourceVendor CSAF · Siemens ProductCERT
Remediation sourceVendor CSAF · Siemens ProductCERT
CWE sourceUnavailable
NVD statusNVD modified after enrichment

Missing structured fields: CWE classification. Missing data is not evidence of low risk; review the primary advisory.

Material change intelligence

What changed after publication

View recent updates →

No material field changes have been recorded since change tracking began. Routine source refreshes and cosmetic edits are intentionally excluded.

Material fields only · duplicate refreshes suppressed · history retained for the configured operational retention period
CVE published
ENISA EUVD · EUVD-2020-2089↗Vendor CSAF · Siemens ProductCERT↗CVE authority or vendor reference↗Official CVE record (CNA and ADP data)↗NVD record↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
CVE
Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
CVSS
Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
EPSS
Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
CWE
Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
CNA
CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
CISA ADP
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
NVD
National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
CERT / CSIRT
A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
PoC
Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
CSAF
Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
LoTL
Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.
Free version - for non-commercial use only.CVE-2020-0591 · cve.blacktree.nl