CVE-2025-20037

Privilege escalation via firmware TOCTOU race

Published Aug 12, 2025 · Updated Feb 26, 2026

TOCTOU race in Intel Converged Security and Manageability Engine firmware allows local users to escalate privileges. Intel identifies the fault only as a firmware time-of-check time-of-use race and has not disclosed the checked resource, competing operation, or affected function. Exploitation requires high local privileges, high-complexity timing, and no user interaction; successful exploitation changes security-boundary integrity and can interrupt platform availability.

CVSS severity7.2
High
EPSS probability0.10%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

TOCTOU race in Intel Converged Security and Manageability Engine firmware allows local users to escalate privileges. Intel identifies the fault only as a firmware time-of-check time-of-use race and has not disclosed the checked resource, competing operation, or affected function. Exploitation requires high local privileges, high-complexity timing, and no user interaction; successful exploitation changes security-boundary integrity and can interrupt platform availability.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-20037
Published
Aug 12, 2025
Updated
Feb 26, 2026
Vendor
Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc.
Product
Intel Converged Security and Manageability Engine
Classifications
CWE-367, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 12, 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?

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  1. Affected versionversion=See references

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc. · Intel Converged Security and Manageability Engineversion=See references

Published CVSS scores

6.8Intel CorporationCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:P/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:H
7.2Intel CorporationCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/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
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-367Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition
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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