CVE-2020-12927
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in AMD VBIOS Flash Tool SDK allows authenticated users to escalate privileges to SYSTEM level through a dynamically loaded driver. It affects systems running AMD graphics hardware with the vulnerable SDK installed. The flaw enables local privilege escalation from any authenticated user account.
💻 Affected Systems
- AMD VBIOS Flash Tool SDK
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise where any authenticated user gains SYSTEM privileges, enabling installation of malware, credential theft, persistence mechanisms, and full control over the affected system.
Likely Case
Local privilege escalation by authenticated attackers to install additional malware, steal credentials, or maintain persistence on compromised systems.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper access controls restrict local user accounts and the vulnerable SDK is not installed on critical systems.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access to the system. The vulnerability is in driver loading logic that can be triggered by standard SDK operations.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Updated AMD VBIOS Flash Tool SDK version (specific version not specified in public advisory)
Vendor Advisory: https://www.amd.com/en/corporate/product-security
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Visit AMD product security page. 2. Download latest AMD VBIOS Flash Tool SDK. 3. Uninstall previous version. 4. Install updated version. 5. Restart system.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Remove vulnerable SDK
windowsUninstall AMD VBIOS Flash Tool SDK if not required for operations
Control Panel > Programs > Uninstall a program > Select AMD VBIOS Flash Tool SDK > Uninstall
Restrict local user access
windowsLimit which users have local login rights to systems with vulnerable SDK
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Remove AMD VBIOS Flash Tool SDK from all systems where it's not absolutely required
- Implement strict access controls to limit which users can log into systems with the vulnerable SDK
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if AMD VBIOS Flash Tool SDK is installed via Programs and Features or using: Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product | Where-Object {$_.Name -like '*AMD VBIOS*'}Check Version:
Check installed programs list or registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\AMD\VBIOS Flash ToolVerify Fix Applied:
Verify latest SDK version is installed and check that privilege escalation attempts fail📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected privilege escalation events
- Driver loading events related to AMD VBIOS components
- Security log Event ID 4672 (special privileges assigned)
Network Indicators:
- Not network exploitable - local privilege escalation only
SIEM Query:
EventID=4672 AND ProcessName contains 'amd' OR 'vbios'