CVE-2018-8931
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 · uneditedThe AMD Ryzen, Ryzen Pro, and Ryzen Mobile processor chips have insufficient access control for the Secure Processor, aka RYZENFALL-1.
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 · moderate confidenceThis is a hardware/firmware vulnerability in AMD Ryzen, Ryzen Pro, and Ryzen Mobile processors where the Secure Processor (a dedicated security co-processor) has insufficient access control mechanisms. This allows potential attackers to bypass security boundaries and interact with the Secure Processor without proper authorization, potentially leading to extraction of sensitive data like cryptographic keys or security credentials.
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 dataall 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
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/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 the processor modelRun 'wmic cpu get name' on Windows or 'cat /proc/cpuinfo' on Linux to confirm the CPU is an AMD Ryzen, Ryzen Pro, or Ryzen Mobile processorAffected if The CPU model contains 'Ryzen' (including Ryzen 3, 5, 7) or 'Ryzen Mobile' in the name, or 'Ryzen Pro' designation
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Check Secure Processor firmware version in BIOS/UEFIEnter the system's BIOS/UEFI setup (typically by pressing Delete, F2, or F12 during boot) and navigate to the 'Secure Processor', 'AMD PSP', or 'Security' section to view the firmware versionAffected if A Secure Processor firmware version is displayed (indicating the vulnerable component is present); note that all versions are affected according to the advisory
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Verify Secure Processor status via WindowsOpen Device Manager, expand 'System devices', and look for 'AMD Secure Processor' or 'AMD PSP' device; check the driver/firmware details if availableAffected if The AMD Secure Processor device is present and enabled in the system
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Check for firmware update availabilityVisit the AMD support website for your specific processor model and search for Secure Processor firmware updates related to this CVEAffected if No firmware update has been applied or no update is available for your specific processor model
You are affected if your system contains an AMD Ryzen, Ryzen Pro, or Ryzen Mobile processor with an active Secure Processor, since all firmware versions are vulnerable according to the advisory.
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 AMD-provided firmware updates for the Secure Processor when available; if no update is available, implement compensating controls such as restricting physical access, monitoring for suspicious firmware modifications, and ensuring the platform runs the latest BIOS/UEFI version from AMD.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-8931 — 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-2018-8931 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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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.
- 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data