Quick answers
- Is CVE-2026-20771 exploited in the wild?
- No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-20771 being exploited in the wild.
- How severe is CVE-2026-20771?
- Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 6.1, published 12 May 2026.
- Which products and versions are affected?
- Intel QuickAssist Technology (QAT) software drivers for Windows before 1.13.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-20771?
- No fixed version is recorded yet. Check the vendor's advisory in the references below. If you run it, Junglewise drafts a mitigation that fits your setup and applies it once you approve, with senior security engineers behind it.
- How is CVE-2026-20771 attacked?
- It is attacked with local access, in a software library.
- Am I affected by CVE-2026-20771?
- Check whether you run Intel QuickAssist Technology software drivers for Windows or Intel Quickassist Technology. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.
Technical details
A NULL pointer dereference vulnerability exists in the Ring 3 (User Applications) component of certain Intel QuickAssist Technology (QAT) software drivers for Windows. The flaw is triggered when the driver fails to properly validate pointers before dereferencing them during application-level operations. An authenticated, unprivileged local attacker can exploit this by executing a low-complexity attack to crash the driver or associated user-mode applications. This results in a high impact on availability and a low impact on confidentiality. The issue is mitigated in version 1.13 and later.
Affected products
- Intel QuickAssist Technology (QAT) software drivers for Windows before 1.13
Timeline
- 2026-05-12: disclosed
- 2026-05-12: advisory