CVE-2026-20878

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Null Pointer Dereference in Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi Software

Publication date: 2026-08-11

Last updated on: 2026-08-12

Assigner: Intel Corporation

Description

Null pointer dereference for some Intel(R) PROSet/Wireless WiFi Software for Windows within Ring 2: Device Drivers may allow a denial of service. Network adversary with an unauthenticated user combined with a low complexity attack may enable denial of service. 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 (none), integrity (none) and availability (high) of the vulnerable system, resulting in subsequent system confidentiality (none), integrity (none) and availability (low) impacts.

CVSS Scores

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Meta Information

Published

2026-08-11

Last Modified

2026-08-12

Generated

2026-09-01

AI Q&A

2026-08-11

EPSS Evaluated

2026-08-30

NVD

CVE-2026-20878

EUVD

EUVD-2026-56504

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
intel	proset_wireless_wifi_software	*

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-476	The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This vulnerability is a null pointer dereference issue in Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi Software for Windows. It allows a network-based attacker to cause a denial of service via adjacent access without special knowledge or user interaction. The attack has low complexity and does not require authentication.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability involves a null pointer dereference in Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi Software for Windows. Detection may require monitoring for system crashes or unresponsive network interfaces. Check for driver-related errors in Windows Event Viewer under System logs. Use commands like 'driverquery' to list installed drivers and verify versions against Intel's advisories.

Impact Analysis

The vulnerability may lead to system crashes or unresponsiveness, disrupting network connectivity and wireless functionality. Since it affects device drivers, it could cause instability in the operating system or require a reboot to restore normal operation.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability primarily causes a denial of service (DoS) via a null pointer dereference in Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi Software. It does not directly impact data confidentiality or integrity but may lead to system unavailability, which could affect compliance with regulations requiring high availability, such as HIPAA for healthcare systems. GDPR compliance is less directly affected unless the DoS disrupts data processing operations.

Mitigation Strategies

Update Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi Software for Windows to the latest version provided by Intel to address the null pointer dereference issue.

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