CVE-2019-16863
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 · uneditedSTMicroelectronics ST33TPHF2ESPI TPM devices before 2019-09-12 allow attackers to extract the ECDSA private key via a side-channel timing attack because ECDSA scalar multiplication is mishandled, aka TPM-FAIL.
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 confidenceSTMicroelectronics ST33TPHF2ESPI TPM devices contain a timing side-channel vulnerability in ECDSA scalar multiplication operations. Attackers can extract the ECDSA private key by analyzing timing variations during cryptographic operations, exploiting mishandled scalar multiplication in the TPM firmware.
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= 71.0= 71.4= 71.12= 73.0= 73.4= 73.8= 73.5= 73.9= 74.0= 74.4= 74.8= 74.16= 74.5= 74.9CVSS 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
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 TPM hardware modelCheck system logs (dmesg | grep -i tpm), lsusb for USB TPMs, or use tpm2_getcap -c to enumerate TPM devices. Look for ST33TPHF2ESPI, ST33TPHF2EI2C, ST33TPHF20SPI, or ST33TPHF20I2C in the output.Affected if The device model matches any of: St33tphf2espi, St33tphf2ei2c, St33tphf20spi, or St33tphf20i2c.
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Retrieve the TPM firmware versionUse tpm2_getcap properties-fixed or cat /sys/class/tpm/tpm0/device/firmware_version (path may vary). Alternatively, run tpm2_getcap -l to list all TPM properties and locate the firmware version field.Affected if The installed firmware version exactly matches one of: 71.0, 71.4, 71.12, 73.0, 73.4, 73.8 (for SPI variants), 73.5, 73.9 (for i2c variants), 74.0, 74.4, 74.8, 74.16 (for SPI variants), or 74.5, 74.9 (for i2c variants).
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Confirm TPM is actively used for ECDSA operationsReview application logs or system documentation for ECDSA key generation or signing operations performed via the TPM. Check if the system uses TPM-backed certificates or keys.Affected if The TPM is performing ECDSA cryptographic operations (key generation or signing) and the firmware version matches the affected list.
The system is affected only if it uses an ST33TPHF2 series TPM with one of the specific firmware versions listed and performs ECDSA operations through that TPM.
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 dataUpdate TPM firmware to version released on or after 2019-09-12, or replace affected ST33TPHF2ESPI TPM hardware with patched components.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-16863 — 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-2019-16863 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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