dbcve.org
Insydeh2oApplication · Insyde

CVE-2021-42113

HIGH · 8.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-02-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.14.34 / 5.24.34 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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
An issue was discovered in StorageSecurityCommandDxe in Insyde InsydeH2O with Kernel 5.1 before 05.14.28, Kernel 5.2 before 05.24.28, and Kernel 5.3 before 05.32.25. An SMM callout vulnerability allows an attacker to hijack execution flow of code running in System Management Mode. Exploiting this issue could lead to escalating privileges to SMM.

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 confidence

SMM callout vulnerability in InsydeH2O's StorageSecurityCommandDxe driver allows an attacker to hijack execution flow in System Management Mode, escalating privileges to SMM. Affected versions include Kernel 5.1 before 05.14.28, Kernel 5.2 before 05.24.28, and Kernel 5.3 before 05.32.25.

MitigationApply vendor-provided firmware updates from Insyde or the OEM to patch the InsydeH2O Kernel to the fixed versions (5.1: 05.14.28+, 5.2: 05.24.28+, 5.3: 05.32.25+).

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
Insydeh2oApplication
Affected:>= 5.1, < 5.14.34>= 5.2, < 5.24.34>= 5.3, < 5.24.34

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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/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 checks

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

  1. Identify the system firmware vendor
    Check if the system uses InsydeH2O UEFI firmware by running 'dmidecode -s bios-vendor' or 'dmidecode -s bios-version' and look for InsydeH2O in the output or version string
    Affected if The system does not use InsydeH2O firmware (not applicable)
  2. Extract the InsydeH2O kernel version
    In the UEFI/BIOS setup screen or via 'dmidecode', locate the firmware version string. InsydeH2O kernel versions appear as 05.XX.XX (e.g., 05.14.28, 05.24.28, 05.32.25). Note the second number pair indicates the kernel branch (14=5.1, 24=5.2, 32=5.3)
    Affected if Unable to determine the InsydeH2O kernel version from firmware
  3. Compare against vulnerable version ranges
    If kernel version starts with 05.14: check if below 05.14.28. If 05.24: check if below 05.24.28. If 05.32: check if below 05.32.25. Any version meeting these conditions is vulnerable
    Affected if The installed kernel version falls within any of these ranges: 05.14.00-05.14.27, 05.24.00-05.24.27, or 05.32.00-05.32.24
  4. Verify StorageSecurityCommandDxe driver presence
    This driver is part of the UEFI firmware image. It may be listed in the EFI variables or firmware components if reviewing a firmware dump. The driver is typically present in InsydeH2O-based systems with storage security features
    Affected if The system firmware contains the StorageSecurityCommandDxe driver (most InsydeH2O systems with this feature enabled)
  5. Confirm system has SMM access
    This is a pre-existing condition: verify the system has SMM capability (all modern x86 systems with InsydeH2O UEFI have this). No specific command needed; SMM is standard on affected firmware
    Affected if System is an x86 platform running InsydeH2O UEFI firmware

The system is affected if it runs InsydeH2O UEFI firmware with kernel versions 05.14.x before 05.14.28, 05.24.x before 05.24.28, or 05.32.x before 05.32.25, and has the StorageSecurityCommandDxe driver present.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 5.14.34 / 5.24.34 or later
Fixed in 5.14.345.24.34
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-provided firmware updates from Insyde or the OEM to patch the InsydeH2O Kernel to the fixed versions (5.1: 05.14.28+, 5.2: 05.24.28+, 5.3: 05.32.25+).

Recommended fix High confidence

InsydeH2O Kernel 5.1 -> 05.14.34; Kernel 5.2 -> 05.24.34; Kernel 5.3 -> 05.32.25

  1. 1. Identify the current InsydeH2O kernel version installed on the affected system by checking the UEFI firmware version or system BIOS information
  2. 2. Determine which kernel branch (5.1, 5.2, or 5.3) the current firmware is based on
  3. 3. Obtain the corresponding firmware update from the system vendor (OEM) that includes the InsydeH2O fix
  4. 4. For Kernel 5.1: Apply firmware update to version 05.14.34 or later
  5. 5. For Kernel 5.2: Apply firmware update to version 05.24.34 or later
  6. 6. For Kernel 5.3: Apply firmware update to version 05.32.25 or later
  7. 7. After firmware update, verify the new version is installed and the vulnerability is remediated
Caveat Firmware updates require system reboot and may require OEM-provided update mechanisms; validate update compatibility with specific hardware before applying

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

Fix this in Insydeh2o Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
44.0 hours of engineering $7,720
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $12,352.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-42113 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2021-42113 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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