CVE-2021-0144
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 · uneditedInsecure default variable initialization for the Intel BSSA DFT feature may allow a privileged user to potentially enable an 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 · moderate confidenceThis vulnerability exists in the Intel BSSA DFT (Debug Features Test) feature where an insecure default variable initialization allows a privileged local user to escalate their privileges. The issue stems from improper initialization of variables in the firmware, which could be exploited to gain higher-level system privileges beyond those initially granted to the attacker.
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 dataall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsCVSS 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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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 the CPU modelRun 'dmidecode -s processor-version' or check /proc/cpuinfo to identify the exact Intel Atom processor modelAffected if The processor is one of: Intel Atom C3000, C3308, C3336, C3338, C3338r, C3436l, C3508, or C3538
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Check BSSA DFT BIOS/firmware settingAccess the system BIOS/UEFI setup during boot and navigate to Debug Features Test (DFT) or BSSA configuration options. Alternatively, inspect the BIOS configuration dump if available via 'dmidecode -t bios' or vendor-specific toolsAffected if The BSSA DFT feature is enabled in the BIOS/firmware settings
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Verify firmware versionRun 'dmidecode -s bios-version' to obtain the current BIOS/firmware version, then compare against Intel's release notes for this CVEAffected if The firmware version has not been patched by Intel for CVE-2021-0144 (note: all versions of affected CPUs are currently listed as vulnerable)
The system is affected if it runs on any of the listed Intel Atom processors (C3000, C3308, C3336, C3338, C3338r, C3436l, C3508, C3538) with the BSSA DFT feature enabled in the BIOS/firmware.
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 dataApply the Intel firmware update for the BSSA DFT feature through the OEM or Intel's official firmware distribution channels. Since this is a BIOS/firmware-level issue, updating the system firmware to the latest Intel-released version is required.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-0144 — 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-2021-0144 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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