CVE-2026-20890

Analyzed Analyzed - Analysis Complete

Privilege Escalation in Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi Software

Publication date: 2026-08-11

Last updated on: 2026-08-26

Assigner: Intel Corporation

Description

Improper privilege management for some Intel(R) PROSet/Wireless WiFi Software for Windows within Ring 2: Privileged Process may allow an escalation of privilege. Unprivileged software adversary with an unauthenticated user combined with a high complexity attack may enable escalation of privilege. This result may potentially occur via local access when attack requirements are not present without special internal knowledge and requires no user interaction. The potential vulnerability may impact the confidentiality (low), integrity (low) and availability (high) of the vulnerable system, resulting in subsequent system confidentiality (low), integrity (low) and availability (high) impacts.

CVSS Scores

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Meta Information

Published

2026-08-11

Last Modified

2026-08-26

Generated

2026-09-01

AI Q&A

2026-08-12

EPSS Evaluated

2026-08-30

NVD

CVE-2026-20890

EUVD

EUVD-2026-56507

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
intel	proset/wireless_wifi	to 24.30.0 (exc)

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-269	The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This vulnerability involves improper privilege management in Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi Software for Windows. A privileged process may allow privilege escalation due to an attack by an unauthenticated adversary with local access. The attack requires high complexity and no user interaction.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability cannot be directly detected through standard commands due to its nature as a privilege escalation issue requiring local access and specific conditions. Focus on monitoring for unusual privilege changes or unauthorized access attempts in system logs.

Impact Analysis

The vulnerability may lead to confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts on the system. Confidentiality and integrity are low impact, while availability is high. This could result in system instability or unauthorized access.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability may impact confidentiality, integrity, and availability of systems, which could lead to unauthorized access or data breaches. Such incidents could potentially violate compliance requirements under GDPR or HIPAA if sensitive data is exposed or altered.

Mitigation Strategies

Update Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi Software for Windows to the latest version provided by Intel. Disable unnecessary privileges for unprivileged software and restrict local access to reduce attack surface. Monitor system logs for suspicious privilege escalation attempts.

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