CVE-2019-6155
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 vulnerability was found in an SMI handler in various BIOS versions of certain legacy IBM System x and IBM BladeCenter systems that could lead to denial of service.
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 confidenceA vulnerability exists in an SMI (System Management Interrupt) handler in the BIOS of legacy IBM System x and IBM BladeCenter systems. SMI handlers operate in System Management Mode (SMM), a highly privileged CPU mode that runs below the operating system, making such vulnerabilities particularly serious. The flaw can be exploited to cause a denial of service condition.
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< 3.0.0< 3.20< 3.20< 2.40CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 the IBM system modelCheck the system label, BIOS startup screen, or use IPMI/IMM web interface to confirm the exact model (BladeCenter HS23, System X3530 M4, X3630 M4, or X3650 M4 HD)Affected if The system is one of the four affected models listed in the CVE
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Determine the current firmware versionAccess the IMM (Integrated Management Module) or UEFI BIOS setup during boot, or use IPMI command: ipmitool -I lanplus -H <imm_ip> -U <user> -P <pass> raw 0x00 0x08 0x00 0x00 to get firmware version. Alternatively, check IBM ToolsCenter or IMM web UI for firmware version under 'Firmware Update' or 'System Information'Affected if Firmware version cannot be determined or appears lower than the listed thresholds
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Compare firmware version against affected rangesFor BladeCenter HS23: check if version is below 3.0.0. For X3530 M4, X3630 M4: check if below 3.20. For X3650 M4 HD: check if below 2.40. Use the IBM IMM or ToolsCenter to confirm the exact numeric firmware versionAffected if The installed firmware version falls below the specified threshold for your model: <3.0.0 for HS23, <3.20 for X3530 M4/X3630 M4, or <2.40 for X3650 M4 HD
You are affected if you own a BladeCenter HS23, System X3530 M4, X3630 M4, or X3650 M4 HD and its BIOS/firmware version is below the respective threshold, exposing the SMI handler vulnerability.
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 data2.403.0.03.20
Apply IBM BIOS/firmware updates for affected legacy systems when available from IBM support. For end-of-life legacy systems lacking patches, implement compensating controls including network segmentation, restricting physical access to console ports, and monitoring for anomalous system behavior.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2019-6155 — 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-2019-6155 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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