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Milanpi FirmwareOperating system · Amd

CVE-2021-46791

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-01-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.0.0.3 or later.
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
Insufficient input validation during parsing of the System Management Mode (SMM) binary may allow a maliciously crafted SMM executable binary to corrupt Dynamic Root of Trust for Measurement (DRTM) user application memory that may result in a potential 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 · high confidence

This is a firmware-level vulnerability in the System Management Mode (SMM) binary parser. Insufficient input validation during SMM binary parsing allows a maliciously crafted SMM executable to corrupt DRTM (Dynamic Root of Trust for Measurement) user application memory, leading to potential denial of service. SMM operates at the highest privilege level (ring -2) below the OS kernel, making this a critical low-level system vulnerability.

MitigationPrimary remediation requires obtaining and applying a firmware/BIOS update from the system/vendor that addresses the SMM binary parsing input validation. Until a patch is available, organizations should verify Secure Boot is enabled, ensure DRTM-protected applications are isolated, and monitor for indicators of compromise at the firmware level.

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
Milanpi FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.0.0.3

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

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

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

  1. Identify the system firmware vendor and platform
    Use system information commands (dmidecode, inxi, or vendor-specific tools) to determine if the system uses AMD Milanpi platform firmware. Check BIOS/UEFI vendor information.
    Affected if The system does not use AMD Milanpi firmware, then it is not affected by this specific CVE.
  2. Determine the installed firmware version
    Access BIOS/UEFI setup during boot, or use vendor tools (e.g., amdccp, flashrom, or vendor-specific firmware update utilities) to read the current firmware version. Compare against the affected version range.
    Affected if Firmware version is present and is less than 1.0.0.3 on AMD Milanpi platform.
  3. Verify if System Management Mode (SMM) is enabled
    Check BIOS/UEFI settings for SMM-related options, or use tools like dmidecode to examine SMM configuration status. SMM is typically enabled by default on enterprise platforms.
    Affected if SMM is enabled on an affected AMD Milanpi firmware version (this is the typical default state).
  4. Determine if DRTM-protected applications are in use
    Identify if Dynamic Root of Trust for Measurement (DRTM) technologies such as AMD Platform Security Processor (PSP), Intel Trusted Execution Technology (TXT), or OS-level DRTM implementations are configured or active on the system.
    Affected if DRTM-protected applications or services are running on the system with an affected firmware version - this is the exploitation vector for memory corruption.

A system is affected if it runs AMD Milanpi firmware version less than 1.0.0.3 with SMM enabled and has DRTM-protected applications or services present on the platform.

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 1.0.0.3 or later
Fixed in 1.0.0.3
Interim mitigation

Primary remediation requires obtaining and applying a firmware/BIOS update from the system/vendor that addresses the SMM binary parsing input validation. Until a patch is available, organizations should verify Secure Boot is enabled, ensure DRTM-protected applications are isolated, and monitor for indicators of compromise at the firmware level.

Recommended fix High confidence

Milanpi Firmware >= 1.0.0.3

  1. Obtain the Milanpi Firmware update 1.0.0.3 or later from the official AMD support website (www.amd.com)
  2. Verify the firmware integrity using checksums provided by AMD
  3. Apply the firmware update following AMD's standard firmware update procedure for the Milanpi platform
  4. After updating, verify the firmware version has been correctly applied
  5. Ensure DRTM user applications are restarted after the firmware update

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

Fix this in Milanpi Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation24.0 h
  • Implementation60.0 h
  • Testing40.0 h
  • Review / QA16.0 h
140.0 hours of engineering $24,480
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2021-46791 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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