CVE-2026-20917
Received Received - Intake

Information Disclosure in Intel Processors via Transient Execution

Publication date: 2026-08-11

Last updated on: 2026-08-11

Assigner: Intel Corporation

Description
Exposure of sensitive information caused by incorrect data forwarding during transient execution for some Intel(R) Processors within Ring 0: Hypervisor and Kernel may allow information disclosure. System software adversary with a privileged user combined with a high complexity attack may enable data exposure. 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 (none), integrity (none) and availability (none) of the vulnerable system, resulting in subsequent system confidentiality (high), integrity (none) and availability (none) impacts.

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Meta Information

Published
2026-08-11
Last Modified
2026-08-11
Generated
2026-08-11
AI Q&A
2026-08-11
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
CVE-2026-20917
EUVD
EUVD-2026-56822

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
intel processors *

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Exploitability

CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

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Executive Summary

This vulnerability involves exposure of sensitive information due to incorrect data forwarding during transient execution in some Intel processors. It affects Ring 0 (Hypervisor and Kernel) and may allow a privileged local attacker to disclose data. The attack requires high complexity and no special internal knowledge.

Detection Guidance

Detection of this vulnerability requires specialized tools and expertise due to its transient execution nature. Intel recommends using their official vulnerability detection tools or consulting with security professionals to assess exposure. No specific commands can be provided without additional context or resources.

Impact Analysis

A privileged local attacker could exploit this to disclose sensitive data, potentially leading to high confidentiality impact on the system. No integrity or availability impacts are expected, but confidentiality loss could be significant.

Compliance Impact

This vulnerability may lead to unauthorized data exposure, which could violate GDPR (data protection) and HIPAA (health data privacy) by compromising confidentiality. Organizations must assess exposure risks and implement mitigations to maintain compliance.

Mitigation Strategies

Apply security updates from Intel as soon as they become available. Monitor Intel's advisories for patches and follow their guidance for affected processors. Ensure your system is running the latest firmware and kernel versions.

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