CVE-2019-11181
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 · uneditedOut of bound read in Intel(R) Baseboard Management Controller firmware may allow an unauthenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via network 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 · moderate confidenceThis vulnerability is an out-of-bounds read flaw in Intel Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) firmware. BMCs are specialized embedded systems that provide out-of-band management for servers. The flaw allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to potentially read memory contents beyond intended bounds, which could be leveraged for privilege escalation via network access.
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< 2.18CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify Intel BMC is presentCheck if the system has an Intel Baseboard Management Controller by querying IPMI: run `ipmitool -I lanplus -H <bmc-ip> -U admin mc info` or access the Redfish API at `https://<bmc-ip>/redfish/v1/Managers/Self`. If the command succeeds or returns BMC information, an Intel BMC is present.Affected if Command fails or returns no BMC data - no Intel BMC present (not affected)
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Obtain BMC firmware versionRetrieve the BMC firmware version using IPMI: `ipmitool -I lanplus -H <bmc-ip> -U admin mc info` (look for firmware revision field) or via Redfish: GET `/redfish/v1/Managers/Self` and examine the FirmwareVersion field in the response.Affected if Unable to retrieve firmware version - cannot determine if affected
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Compare version against affected rangeCompare the retrieved firmware version to 2.18. Intel BMC firmware versions are typically reported as a major.minor build number (for example, 2.15 or 2.17). If the version is less than 2.18, the system falls within the affected range.Affected if Firmware version < 2.18 - system is affected by the vulnerability
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Check BMC network exposureVerify if the BMC management interface (IPMI port 623/UDP, Redfish HTTPS port 443, or web UI) is accessible from network segments outside the management network. Use `nmap -p 623 -sU <bmc-ip>` to test IPMI accessibility, or review firewall rules and network segmentation configurations.Affected if BMC is exposed to untrusted network segments - exploitation is possible if firmware is vulnerable
A system is affected if it runs Intel BMC firmware version 2.17 or lower and the BMC interface is network-accessible to an attacker.
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 data2.18
Apply Intel BMC firmware updates or server vendor-provided firmware patches to affected systems. As a compensating control, restrict network access to BMC management interfaces (IPMI, Redfish, web UI) using network segmentation and firewall rules to limit exposure.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-11181 — 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-2019-11181 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
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