CVE-2020-8680 in Graphics Drivers
Summary
by MITRE
Race condition in some Intel(R) Graphics Drivers before version 15.40.45.5126 may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access.
If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/13/2020
This vulnerability represents a critical race condition flaw in Intel graphics drivers that affects systems running versions prior to 15.40.45.5126. The issue stems from improper synchronization mechanisms during driver operations, creating a window where malicious code can exploit temporal inconsistencies in privilege management. The vulnerability specifically targets the graphics driver component that handles user space to kernel space transitions, where concurrent access patterns can lead to unpredictable behavior. According to CWE-362, this constitutes a race condition where multiple threads or processes attempt to access shared resources simultaneously without proper locking mechanisms, potentially allowing unauthorized privilege escalation.
The technical exploitation occurs when an authenticated user leverages the race condition to manipulate driver state during critical operations. This typically involves interleaving operations that should be atomic, allowing malicious code to inject or modify driver behavior in ways that elevate privileges from user level to kernel level. The flaw exists in the driver's implementation of privilege checking routines where the validation occurs before the actual resource manipulation, creating a temporal gap that attackers can exploit. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068 which describes the use of local privilege escalation techniques, and specifically relates to the use of race conditions as a vector for privilege escalation.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability enables authenticated users to gain kernel-level privileges on affected systems, potentially allowing full system compromise. Attackers can leverage this to install rootkits, modify system files, disable security controls, or extract sensitive information from the kernel space. The local access requirement means that physical or remote authenticated access is necessary, but once exploited, the impact is severe as it bypasses traditional user-mode security boundaries. The vulnerability affects systems where Intel graphics drivers are installed, particularly those running Windows operating systems where the driver components are most commonly deployed.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate driver updates to version 15.40.45.5126 or later, which contain proper synchronization fixes for the race condition. System administrators should also implement monitoring for unusual privilege escalation attempts and ensure that only necessary users have access to systems with Intel graphics drivers. Additional mitigations include disabling unnecessary graphics driver functionality, implementing application whitelisting, and maintaining regular security updates for all system components. The fix addresses the underlying race condition by implementing proper mutex locking and atomic operations during critical driver transitions, preventing concurrent access patterns that previously enabled privilege escalation. Organizations should also consider implementing network segmentation and access controls to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation attempts.