Special register buffer speculative side channel attack in Intel® Processors firmware for Linux

1) Information disclosure

EUVDB-ID: #VU28928

Risk: Low

CVSSv3.1: 4.8 [CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2020-0543

CWE-ID: CWE-200 - Information exposure

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a local user to gain access to potentially sensitive information.

The vulnerability exists due to incomplete cleanup from specific special register read operations in some Intel(R) Processors. A local user can gain unauthorized access to sensitive information on the system.

Mitigation

This vulnerability will be addressed by Linux kernel vendors.

Vulnerable software versions

Intel Processor Microcode Package for Linux: 20190312 - 20200520

External links

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/security-center/advisory/intel-sa-00320.html

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. This vulnerability can be exploited locally. The attacker should have authentication credentials and successfully authenticate on the system.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.