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Converged Security Management Engine FirmwareOperating system · Intel

CVE-2019-11104

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-12-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.1.70 / 4.0.20 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 MEInfo software for Intel(R) CSME before versions 11.8.70, 11.11.70, 11.22.70, 12.0.45, 13.0.10 and 14.0.10; Intel(R) TXE before versions 3.1.70 and 4.0.20 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

Insufficient input validation in Intel CSME and TXE firmware's MEInfo utility allows an authenticated local user to potentially escalate privileges. This is a firmware-level vulnerability affecting Intel's Management Engine and Trusted Execution Engine components that run beneath the operating system.

MitigationApply Intel firmware updates to patched versions (CSME 11.8.70/11.11.70/11.22.70/12.0.45/13.0.10/14.0.10 or later; TXE 3.1.70/4.0.20 or later) via Intel's system update mechanisms or OEM-provided firmware updates.

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:>= 11.0, < 11.8.70>= 11.10, < 11.11.70>= 11.20, < 11.22.70>= 12.0, < 12.0.45>= 13.0, < 13.0.10>= 14.0.0, < 14.0.10
Trusted Execution Engine FirmwareOperating system
Affected:>= 3.0, < 3.1.70>= 4.0, < 4.0.20

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. Identify Intel Management Engine firmware version
    Run the MEInfo command-line tool (meinfo.exe on Windows or meinfo on Linux) from Intel's Support & Recovery Toolkit or System Tools. Alternatively, use 'wmic baseboard get product,version' or check BIOS/UEFI setup information if ME version is displayed there.
    Affected if The displayed CSME/TXE firmware version falls within any of the vulnerable ranges: CSME 11.0-11.8.69, 11.10-11.11.69, 11.20-11.22.69, 12.0-12.0.44, 13.0-13.0.9, or 14.0.0-14.0.9; TXE 3.0-3.1.69 or 4.0-4.0.19
  2. Confirm firmware type is CSME or TXE
    The MEInfo output will indicate whether the system uses Intel CSME (Converged Security Management Engine) or Intel TXE (Trusted Execution Engine). Note which firmware type is present.
    Affected if The system uses either Intel CSME or Intel TXE firmware and the version matches the vulnerable ranges in step 1
  3. Verify MEInfo utility is accessible
    Confirm that the MEInfo utility or equivalent tool can be executed on the system (typically available via Intel CSME/TXE drivers or Intel System Tools package). The vulnerability exists in MEInfo itself.
    Affected if MEInfo can be run and reports a version that falls within the affected version ranges
  4. Check if local user access is possible
    The vulnerability requires an authenticated local user to execute MEInfo. Verify that local users have access to run MEInfo or equivalent firmware diagnostic tools.
    Affected if Local non-privileged users can execute MEInfo or similar firmware utilities and the firmware version is in the vulnerable range

A system is affected if it runs Intel CSME or TXE firmware with a version that matches any of the vulnerable version ranges and allows local users to access the MEInfo utility.

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 3.1.70 / 4.0.20 / 11.8.70 or later
Fixed in 3.1.704.0.2011.8.70
Interim mitigation

Apply Intel firmware updates to patched versions (CSME 11.8.70/11.11.70/11.22.70/12.0.45/13.0.10/14.0.10 or later; TXE 3.1.70/4.0.20 or later) via Intel's system update mechanisms or OEM-provided firmware updates.

Fix this in Converged Security Management Engine Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2019-11104 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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data