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Sinit Authenticated Code ModuleOperating system · Intel

CVE-2011-5174

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-09-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2nd_gen_i5_i7_sinit_1.9.bin or later.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Buffer overflow in Intel Trusted Execution Technology (TXT) SINIT Authenticated Code Modules (ACM) in Intel Q67 Express, C202, C204, C206 Chipsets, and Mobile Intel QM67, and QS67 Chipset before 2nd_gen_i5_i7_SINIT_51.BIN Express; Intel Q57, 3450 Chipsets and Mobile Intel QM57 and QS57 Express Chipset before i5_i7_DUAL_SINIT_51.BIN and i7_QUAD_SINIT_51.BIN; Mobile Intel GM45, GS45, and PM45 Express Chipset before GM45_GS45_PM45_SINIT_51.BIN; Intel Q35 Express Chipsets before Q35_SINIT_51.BIN; and Intel 5520, 5500, X58, and 7500 Chipsets before SINIT ACM 1.1 allows local users to bypass the Trusted Execution Technology protection mechanism and perform other unspecified SINIT ACM functions via unspecified vectors.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Buffer overflow vulnerability in Intel Trusted Execution Technology (TXT) SINIT Authenticated Code Modules (ACM) firmware across multiple Intel chipset generations. The flaw allows local users to bypass TXT protection mechanisms via unspecified vectors, enabling privilege escalation on affected systems.

MitigationApply Intel firmware updates providing patched SINIT ACM versions (2nd_gen_i5_i7_SINIT_51.BIN, i5_i7_DUAL_SINIT_51.BIN, i7_QUAD_SINIT_51.BIN, GM45_GS45_PM45_SINIT_51.BIN, Q35_SINIT_51.BIN, or SINIT ACM 1.1). For unsupported legacy chipsets lacking patches, consider hardware replacement.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Sinit Authenticated Code ModuleOperating system
Affected:<= 2nd_gen_i5_i7_sinit_1.9.bin<= i5_i7_dual_sinit_18.bin<= i7_quad_sinit_20.bin<= gm45_gs45_pm45_sinit_21.bin<= q35_sinit_18.bin<= 1.0
C202 ChipsetHardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
C204 ChipsetHardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
C206 ChipsetHardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
Mobile Intel Qm67 ChipsetHardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
Mobile Intel Qs67 ChipsetHardware / appliance
Affected:= _express-
Q67 Express ChipsetHardware / appliance
Affected:all versions
3450 ChipsetHardware / appliance
Affected:all versions

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify Intel TXT is enabled
    Check BIOS/UEFI settings or system configuration for Intel Trusted Execution Technology (TXT) status. On Linux, this can be verified via 'txt-stat' from the tboot package or by checking /sys/kernel/security/txt/* if available.
    Affected if Intel TXT is currently enabled on the system.
  2. Identify the SINIT ACM version
    Locate the SINIT ACM binary on the system. Typically found in BIOS firmware or under /boot with tboot installed. The file is named in patterns like '2nd_gen_i5_i7_sinit_*.bin', 'i5_i7_dual_sinit_*.bin', 'i7_quad_sinit_*.bin', 'gm45_gs45_pm45_sinit_*.bin', or 'q35_sinit_*.bin'. Compare the version number against the vulnerable versions listed (1.9, 18, 20, 21, or 1.0).
    Affected if The installed SINIT ACM version is 1.9 or lower for 2nd_gen_i5_i7, 18 or lower for i5_i7_dual, 20 or lower for i7_quad, 21 or lower for gm45_gs45_pm45, 18 or lower for q35, or version 1.0.
  3. Identify the chipset model
    Use system information tools (such as 'dmidecode' on Linux, 'msinfo32' on Windows, or CPU-Z) to identify the chipset. Check the chipset identifier against the list of affected chipsets.
    Affected if The system uses an Intel C202, C204, C206, Mobile Intel QM67, Mobile Intel QS67, Q67 Express, or Intel 3450 chipset.
  4. Confirm vulnerable configuration
    Combine the results: if Intel TXT is enabled AND the SINIT ACM version is vulnerable (as determined in step 2) AND the chipset is in the affected list (from step 3), the system is exposed to this CVE.
    Affected if Intel TXT is enabled with a vulnerable SINIT ACM version on an affected chipset generation.

A system is affected if it has Intel TXT enabled, runs on one of the listed Intel chipsets, and uses a SINIT ACM version at or below the vulnerable thresholds (1.9, 18, 20, 21, or 1.0 depending on the module type).

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2nd_gen_i5_i7_sinit_1.9.bin
Interim mitigation

Apply Intel firmware updates providing patched SINIT ACM versions (2nd_gen_i5_i7_SINIT_51.BIN, i5_i7_DUAL_SINIT_51.BIN, i7_QUAD_SINIT_51.BIN, GM45_GS45_PM45_SINIT_51.BIN, Q35_SINIT_51.BIN, or SINIT ACM 1.1). For unsupported legacy chipsets lacking patches, consider hardware replacement.

Fix this in Sinit Authenticated Code Module Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2011-5174 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data