Converged Security Management Engine FirmwareOperating system · Intel

CVE-2019-11103

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-12-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 12.0.45 / 13.0.10 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Insufficient input validation in firmware update software for Intel(R) CSME before versions 12.0.45,13.0.10 and 14.0.10 may allow an authenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access.

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

Vulnerability in Intel CSME (Converged Security and Management Engine) firmware update software due to insufficient input validation. An authenticated local user can potentially exploit this to escalate privileges. CSME is a critical firmware component handling security management on Intel platforms.

MitigationUpdate Intel CSME firmware to versions 12.0.45, 13.0.10, 14.0.10 or later. In enterprise environments, test updates on representative systems before broad deployment due to firmware update risks.

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
Converged Security Management Engine FirmwareOperating system
Affected:>= 12.0, < 12.0.45>= 13.0, < 13.0.10>= 14.0.0, < 14.0.10

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
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/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 checks

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

  1. Verify Intel CSME firmware is present
    Check if the system has Intel CSME/ME firmware. On Windows, open Device Manager and look under 'System devices' for 'Intel(R) Management Engine Interface' or 'Intel(R) Converged Security Management Engine'. On Linux, run 'ls /dev/mei*' or use 'meinfo' tool if available.
    Affected if The system does not have Intel CSME firmware (not affected, different hardware)
  2. Retrieve CSME firmware version
    Use Intel tools to read the firmware version. On Windows, use 'Intel Management Engine Interface' driver properties or tools like 'MEInfo' or 'intelmetool'. On Linux, run 'meinfo' or 'intelmetool' from terminal. The version typically appears as a numeric build like 12.x.x.x or 13.x.x.x.
    Affected if Unable to retrieve version - CSME may be disabled or inaccessible
  3. Compare version against affected ranges
    Compare your installed CSME firmware version to: 12.0.0 to 12.0.44 (affected), 13.0.0 to 13.0.9 (affected), 14.0.0 to 14.0.9 (affected). Versions below 12.0, or 12.0.45 and above, 13.0.10 and above, 14.0.10 and above are NOT affected.
    Affected if Installed version falls within any of these ranges: >= 12.0 and < 12.0.45 OR >= 13.0 and < 13.0.10 OR >= 14.0.0 and < 14.0.10

A system is affected if it contains Intel CSME firmware with a version matching the affected ranges listed above, making it vulnerable to local privilege escalation via insufficient input validation.

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 12.0.45 / 13.0.10 / 14.0.10 or later
Fixed in 12.0.4513.0.1014.0.10
Interim mitigation

Update Intel CSME firmware to versions 12.0.45, 13.0.10, 14.0.10 or later. In enterprise environments, test updates on representative systems before broad deployment due to firmware update risks.

Fix this in Converged Security Management Engine Firmware 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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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-11103 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-11103 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data