CVE-2026-20749 in PROSet
Summary
by MITRE • 08/11/2026
Out-of-bounds read for some Intel(R) PROSet/Wireless WiFi Software within Ring 2: Device Drivers may allow an escalation of privilege. Network adversary with an unauthenticated user combined with a low complexity attack may enable escalation of privilege. This result may potentially occur via adjacent access when attack requirements are not present without special internal knowledge and requires no user interaction. The potential vulnerability may impact the confidentiality (low), integrity (low) and availability (high) of the vulnerable system, resulting in subsequent system confidentiality (low), integrity (low) and availability (low) impacts.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 08/11/2026
This vulnerability represents a critical out-of-bounds read condition affecting Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi software operating within ring 2 device drivers, creating a significant privilege escalation pathway for malicious actors. The flaw resides in the wireless driver implementation where improper bounds checking allows memory access beyond allocated buffer boundaries, potentially enabling attackers to execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges. Such vulnerabilities typically originate from insufficient input validation and memory management practices that violate fundamental security principles outlined in cwe-129 and cwe-787, where inadequate boundary checks create opportunities for attackers to manipulate program execution flow through carefully crafted inputs.
The attack vector requires an unauthenticated user to leverage a low complexity exploit scenario, making the vulnerability particularly dangerous as it can be triggered without requiring user interaction or specialized knowledge beyond basic network access. This characteristic places the vulnerability in the adjacent access category according to attack pattern taxonomy, where adversaries with minimal privileges can potentially elevate their access level through carefully constructed memory corruption attacks that target the vulnerable device driver components. The privilege escalation occurs because ring 2 drivers operate with elevated system permissions, making successful exploitation directly translate into system compromise.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends across all three core security properties defined in the confidentiality integrity and availability triad. While the initial impact on confidentiality and integrity is rated as low due to the nature of memory corruption rather than direct data manipulation, the availability impact is rated high since successful exploitation can result in system crashes or complete system compromise. The subsequent system-level impacts maintain the same ratings across all security properties, indicating that even if the immediate attack succeeds, the broader system security posture remains compromised.
Mitigation strategies must address both the immediate software vulnerability and broader operational security considerations for affected systems. Organizations should implement immediate patch management procedures to upgrade Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi software to versions containing fixed driver implementations, with particular attention to ensuring ring 2 driver components receive proper bounds checking and memory validation. System hardening measures including disabling unnecessary wireless functionality, implementing network segmentation, and deploying runtime application control mechanisms can provide additional defense layers against exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with attack techniques documented in the attack pattern framework where adversaries leverage kernel-level vulnerabilities to achieve privilege escalation, specifically mapping to techniques involving device driver manipulation and memory corruption attacks that exploit the fundamental trust placed in system drivers.