CVE-2018-3652
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 · uneditedExisting UEFI setting restrictions for DCI (Direct Connect Interface) in 5th and 6th generation Intel Xeon Processor E3 Family, Intel Xeon Scalable processors, and Intel Xeon Processor D Family allows a limited physical presence attacker to potentially access platform secrets via debug interfaces.
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 confidenceUEFI setting restrictions for DCI (Direct Connect Interface) debug interfaces are insufficient on affected Intel Xeon processors (5th/6th gen E3 family, Xeon Scalable, Xeon Processor D). This allows a physically present attacker with limited access to potentially read platform secrets through debug interfaces.
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= 1505m_v6= 1515m_v5= 1535m_v5= 1535m_v6= 1545m_v5= 1558l_v5= 1565l_v5= 1575m_v5= 1578l_v5= 1585_v5= 1585l_v5all versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsCVSS 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
- Physical
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed CPU modelRun 'wmic cpu get name,processorid' on Windows or 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' on Linux to determine the exact processor modelAffected if The CPU is an Intel Xeon E3 from the 5th/6th gen family (1200 series) or one of the specific listed SKUs (1505m, 1515m, 1535m, etc.)
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Verify CPU version against affected listCompare the installed CPU stepping or version string to the specific versions listed in the affected products (e.g., 1535m_v5, 1535m_v6, etc.)Affected if The CPU version matches one of the specific version strings listed or falls within the 'all versions' ranges for E3-1220 V5/V6, E3-1225 V5/V6, E3-1230 V5/V6, or E3-1235l V5
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Check UEFI/BIOS firmware versionRun 'wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion' on Windows or 'dmidecode -s bios-version' on Linux to retrieve the current firmware versionAffected if The UEFI/BIOS version is older than the Intel-provided firmware update that addresses this vulnerability (compare against Intel's official patch release for this CVE)
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Inspect DCI debug interface accessibilityAccess the UEFI/BIOS settings menu and navigate to debug/DCI configuration options (typically under Security or Advanced settings) to check if Direct Connect Interface debug ports are enabled or unrestrictedAffected if DCI debug interfaces are enabled or configured without proper access restrictions in the UEFI settings
A system is affected if it runs any of the listed Intel Xeon E3 processor variants and has a UEFI/BIOS version lacking the security fix that restricts DCI debug interface access.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataApply Intel-provided UEFI/BIOS firmware updates that properly restrict DCI debug interface access, and ensure physical security controls limit unauthorized access to affected server hardware.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,448.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-3652 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-3652 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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