CVE-2021-0187

Local privilege escalation via undisclosed BIOS access control

Published Feb 16, 2023 · Updated Jan 27, 2025

Improper access control in Intel BIOS firmware allows local users to escalate privileges on 3rd Gen Xeon Scalable systems. Intel has not disclosed the affected BIOS access-control path or the unauthorized operation it permits. Exploitation requires high privileges and local access, and the public advisory does not identify the resulting higher privilege or modified resource.

CVSS severity3.2
Low
EPSS probability0.21%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper access control in Intel BIOS firmware allows local users to escalate privileges on 3rd Gen Xeon Scalable systems. Intel has not disclosed the affected BIOS access-control path or the unauthorized operation it permits. Exploitation requires high privileges and local access, and the public advisory does not identify the resulting higher privilege or modified resource.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-0187
Published
Feb 16, 2023
Updated
Jan 27, 2025
Vendor
Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc.
Product
3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processors
Classifications
T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 16, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jan 27, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=See references

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc. · 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processorsversion=See references

Published CVSS scores

8.2NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
3.2Intel CorporationCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N

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
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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

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Your stack

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