CVE-2026-20709
MediumCVSS 6.6Exploitation Probability (EPSS)
Low risk2th percentile - higher than 2% of all known CVEs
Summary
Default cryptographic keys are used in the hardware of some Intel Pentium Silver, Celeron J, and Celeron N processors. An adversary with hardware reverse engineering skills and privileged access can escalate privileges via a complex physical attack. The attack requires special internal knowledge but no user interaction.
Risk Assessment
The vulnerability could lead to a complete breach of confidentiality and integrity, allowing an attacker to gain unauthorized access to protected data.
Recommendation
Update the processor microcode or apply patches provided by Intel. Restrict physical access to devices where possible.
Original NVD description (English source)
Use of Default Cryptographic Key in the hardware for some Intel(R) Pentium(R) Processor Silver Series, Intel(R) Celeron(R) Processor J Series, Intel(R) Celeron(R) Processor N Series may allow an escalation of privilege. Hardware reverse engineer adversary with a privileged user combined with a high complexity attack may enable escalation of privilege. This result may potentially occur via physical access when attack requirements are present with special internal knowledge and requires no user interaction. The potential vulnerability may impact the confidentiality (high), integrity (none) and availability (none) of the vulnerable system, resulting in subsequent system confidentiality (high), integrity (high) and availability (none) impacts.