CVE-2020-36776

Local system crash via negative power-state index

Published Feb 27, 2024 · Updated May 23, 2026

Out-of-bounds read in affected Linux kernel releases allows local users to crash the system through CPU thermal power limiting. cpu_power_to_freq() calculates a negative Energy Model array index when requested power is below OPP0, then reads beyond the slab instead of returning the lowest frequency. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and an Energy Model configuration whose requested power falls below its first operating point.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.23%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Out-of-bounds read in affected Linux kernel releases allows local users to crash the system through CPU thermal power limiting. cpu_power_to_freq() calculates a negative Energy Model array index when requested power is below OPP0, then reads beyond the slab instead of returning the lowest frequency. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and an Energy Model configuration whose requested power falls below its first operating point.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-36776
Published
Feb 27, 2024
Updated
May 23, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-129, CAPEC-100, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 27, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 23, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=371a3bc79c11b707d7a1b7a2c938dc3cc042fffb <34ab17cc6c2c1ac93d7e5d53bb972df9a968f085
  2. Affected versionversion=371a3bc79c11b707d7a1b7a2c938dc3cc042fffb <6bf443acf6ca4f666d0e4225614ba9993a3aa1a9
  3. Affected versionversion=371a3bc79c11b707d7a1b7a2c938dc3cc042fffb <876a5f33e5d961d879c5436987c09b3d9ef70379
  4. Affected versionversion=371a3bc79c11b707d7a1b7a2c938dc3cc042fffb <c24a20912eef00587416628149c438e885eb1304
  5. Affected versionversion=39e0651cac9c80865b2838f297f95ffc0f34a1d8
  6. Affected versionversion=4.14.189 <4.15
  7. Affected versionversion=4.19.134 <4.20
  8. Affected versionversion=5.4.53 <5.5
  9. Affected versionversion=5.7.8 <5.8
  10. Affected versionversion=5.8
  11. Affected versionversion=9006b543384ab10902819364c1205f11a1458571
  12. Affected versionversion=d3b7bacd1115400b94482dfc7efffc175c29b831
  13. Affected versionversion=febe56f21371ba1e51e8586c3ddf8f54fc62fe61

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=371a3bc79c11b707d7a1b7a2c938dc3cc042fffb <34ab17cc6c2c1ac93d7e5d53bb972df9a968f085; version=371a3bc79c11b707d7a1b7a2c938dc3cc042fffb <6bf443acf6ca4f666d0e4225614ba9993a3aa1a9; version=371a3bc79c11b707d7a1b7a2c938dc3cc042fffb <876a5f33e5d961d879c5436987c09b3d9ef70379; version=371a3bc79c11b707d7a1b7a2c938dc3cc042fffb <c24a20912eef00587416628149c438e885eb1304; version=39e0651cac9c80865b2838f297f95ffc0f34a1d8; version=4.14.189 <4.15; version=4.19.134 <4.20; version=5.4.53 <5.5; version=5.7.8 <5.8; version=5.8; version=9006b543384ab10902819364c1205f11a1458571; version=d3b7bacd1115400b94482dfc7efffc175c29b831; version=febe56f21371ba1e51e8586c3ddf8f54fc62fe61

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST National Vulnerability DatabaseCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-129Improper Validation of Array Index
CAPEC-100Overflow Buffers
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo