dbcve.org
BiosOperating system · Intel

CVE-2021-33117

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-05-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click

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 · unedited
Improper access control for some 3rd Generation Intel(R) Xeon(R) Scalable Processors before BIOS version MR7, may allow a local attacker to potentially enable information disclosure 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 confidence

Improper access control in the BIOS of 3rd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable Processors before version MR7 allows a local attacker with physical or local access to potentially obtain sensitive information. The vulnerability stems from insufficient access controls at the firmware level.

MitigationUpdate the system BIOS to version MR7 or later as provided by Intel and system OEM vendors. In enterprise environments, deploy through a controlled BIOS update process with rollback capabilities.

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
BiosOperating system
Affected:< mr7
Fas\/aff BiosOperating system
Affected:all versions

CVSS 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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify processor generation
    Use system information commands (such as dmidecode, lscpu, or vendor-specific tools) to determine if the CPU is a 3rd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable Processor (Ice Lake)
    Affected if The processor is a 3rd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable Processor and the system uses Intel BIOS firmware
  2. Retrieve BIOS version
    Use vendor-specific tools (dmidecode -s bios-version on Linux, BIOS setup menu, or BMC/IPMI interfaces) to obtain the currently installed BIOS firmware version
    Affected if The BIOS version cannot be determined or is below MR7
  3. Compare BIOS version to affected range
    Compare the installed BIOS version string against the MR7 threshold. Intel versions typically follow formats like XX.XX.XXXXX - check if the version is numerically or alphanumerically earlier than MR7
    Affected if The BIOS version is below MR7 (for example, MR6, MR5, etc.) or the version string indicates a pre-MR7 release
  4. Check if system is NetApp FAS/AFF
    Identify the system model using commands like lshw, dmidecode, or vendor hardware documentation to determine if the affected system is a NetApp FAS or AFF storage array
    Affected if The system is a NetApp FAS or AFF storage array (all versions of BIOS on these products are affected per vendor advisory)
  5. Verify physical/local access exposure
    Review system access controls, physical security policies, and local user privileges to determine if an attacker could gain physical access or local shell access to the system
    Affected if Physical security is not controlled or local privileged access is available to untrusted users (the vulnerability requires local/physical attacker)

The environment is affected if it runs a 3rd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable Processor with BIOS version earlier than MR7, or if it is a NetApp FAS/AFF system of any BIOS version, and the attacker could gain physical or local access.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update the system BIOS to version MR7 or later as provided by Intel and system OEM vendors. In enterprise environments, deploy through a controlled BIOS update process with rollback capabilities.

Recommended fix High confidence

Intel 3rd Generation Xeon Scalable Processor BIOS version MR7 or later

  1. Identify the specific 3rd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable Processor model(s) in your environment
  2. Obtain the BIOS update MR7 or later from Intel's support site or your server/system vendor's BIOS download page
  3. Apply the BIOS update using your vendor's recommended method (e.g., via IPMI/iDRAC/iLO BMC, or local firmware flash utility)
  4. After updating, verify the BIOS version has been successfully updated to MR7 or newer
Caveat Test BIOS updates in non-production environments first; ensure power stability during flash process

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Bios Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
36.0 hours of engineering $6,400
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-33117 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data