CVE-2019-16284
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 · uneditedA potential security vulnerability has been identified in multiple HP products and versions which involves possible execution of arbitrary code during boot services that can result in elevation of privilege. The EFI_BOOT_SERVICES structure might be overwritten by an attacker to execute arbitrary SMM (System Management Mode) code. A list of affected products and versions are available in https://support.hp.com/rs-en/document/c06456250.
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 confidenceThe vulnerability allows overwriting the EFI_BOOT_SERVICES structure during boot, enabling execution of arbitrary code in System Management Mode (SMM). This creates a privilege escalation vector as SMM operates at the highest privilege level below the hypervisor, giving attackers persistent firmware-level control.
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< 2.27< 80.3< a0.23< f.48< f.55< f.48< f.46< f.48CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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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Identify your HP system modelRun 'dmidecode -s system-product-name' or check the physical system label/markings to get the exact model (e.g., 260 G1 Dm, 280 Pro G1, 285 G2, 340 G3, 340 G4, 346 G3, 346 G4, 348 G3)Affected if The model is not one of the eight listed affected products, then this CVE does not apply to your system
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Check the installed firmware versionEnter the BIOS/UEFI setup during boot (press Esc/F10/F12 depending on model) and look for BIOS Version under the Main or Information section, or use 'dmidecode -s bios-version' from the OSAffected if Unable to determine firmware version - manual inspection via BIOS setup may be required
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Compare your installed firmware version number to the threshold for your specific model: 260 G1 Dm < 2.27, 280 Pro G1 < 80.3, 285 G2 < a0.23, 340 G3 < f.48, 340 G4 < f.55, 346 G3 < f.48, 346 G4 < f.46, 348 G3 < f.48Affected if Your installed version is less than the threshold for your model - you are running a vulnerable firmware version
You are affected if you own one of the eight listed HP models and your current firmware version is below the specified threshold for that model.
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 data2.2780.3
Apply HP-provided firmware updates to affected products; this is a firmware-level vulnerability requiring vendor patches rather than code changes.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation24.0 h
- Testing16.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-16284 — 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-2019-16284 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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