CVE-2020-8684 in PAC with Arria 10 GX FPGA
Summary
by MITRE
Improper access control in firmware for Intel(R) PAC with Arria(R) 10 GX FPGA before Intel Acceleration Stack version 1.2.1 may allow a privileged user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/13/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-8684 represents a critical access control flaw within the firmware of Intel(R) Programmable Acceleration Card (PAC) featuring Arria(R) 10 GX FPGA hardware. This issue affects systems utilizing Intel Acceleration Stack versions prior to 1.2.1, creating a pathway for privilege escalation that could be exploited by locally authenticated users. The flaw resides in the firmware implementation where insufficient access control mechanisms fail to properly validate user privileges before granting elevated system permissions. This vulnerability specifically targets the hardware abstraction layer and system management interfaces that govern FPGA resource allocation and configuration.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability stems from inadequate privilege validation within the firmware's security model, which operates under the CWE-284 access control weakness classification. When a privileged user gains local access to the system, the firmware fails to properly enforce the principle of least privilege, allowing the user to bypass normal access controls and escalate their privileges to higher system levels. The vulnerability manifests through improper validation of user credentials and access tokens during firmware operations, particularly when managing FPGA configuration registers and system resources that require elevated privileges. This flaw operates at the intersection of hardware and firmware security, where the physical security boundaries of the FPGA platform are not properly enforced by the underlying firmware implementation.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents a significant risk to systems relying on Intel PAC with Arria 10 GX FPGA for acceleration tasks, particularly in enterprise environments where privileged accounts are common. The local access requirement means that an attacker must already have legitimate user credentials to exploit this vulnerability, but the privilege escalation capability could enable them to gain root access or administrative privileges. This creates potential for data exfiltration, system compromise, and disruption of critical acceleration services. The impact extends beyond simple privilege escalation as it could allow attackers to modify FPGA configurations, potentially corrupting system functionality or creating backdoor access points. The vulnerability also affects the integrity of the hardware security model that Intel designed to protect against unauthorized access to sensitive system resources.
The mitigation strategy for CVE-2020-8684 centers on upgrading to Intel Acceleration Stack version 1.2.1 or later, which includes proper access control enforcement mechanisms and privilege validation procedures. System administrators should also implement additional security measures such as disabling unnecessary local accounts, implementing strict access controls for privileged users, and monitoring for unusual privilege escalation attempts. Organizations should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify systems running affected firmware versions and ensure all hardware components are updated to supported firmware releases. The remediation process should include proper testing of firmware updates to prevent service disruption while ensuring the vulnerability is fully addressed. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1068 privilege escalation and demonstrates the importance of proper firmware security implementation in hardware acceleration platforms.