CVE-2025-20003

Local privilege escalation via installer link following

Published May 13, 2025 · Updated Feb 26, 2026

Link following in some Intel Graphics Driver software installers allows local users to escalate privileges through a crafted filesystem link. The installer resolves a link before file access and consequently operates on an unintended target, but Intel has not disclosed the affected path or file operation. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access, a prepared link, and installer user interaction; successful abuse compromises confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

CVSS severity7.3
High
EPSS probability0.20%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Link following in some Intel Graphics Driver software installers allows local users to escalate privileges through a crafted filesystem link. The installer resolves a link before file access and consequently operates on an unintended target, but Intel has not disclosed the affected path or file operation. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access, a prepared link, and installer user interaction; successful abuse compromises confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-20003
Published
May 13, 2025
Updated
Feb 26, 2026
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-59, CAPEC-132, CAPEC-76, CAPEC-35, CAPEC-17, T1068, T1203
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 13, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 26, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

8.2Intel CorporationCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.3Intel CorporationCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA: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
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-59Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')
CAPEC-132Symlink Attack
CAPEC-76Manipulating Web Input to File System Calls
CAPEC-35Leverage Executable Code in Non-Executable Files
CAPEC-17Using Malicious Files
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation
T1203Exploitation for Client Execution

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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