dbcve.org
Power 9 Ac922 FirmwareOperating system · Ibm

CVE-2022-22374

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-03-24
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
The BMC (IBM Power 9 AC922 OP910, OP920, OP930, and OP940) may be subject to a firmware downgrade attack which may affect its ability to operate its host. IBM X-Force ID: 221442.

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

This vulnerability allows a firmware downgrade attack on the BMC (Baseboard Management Controller) of IBM Power 9 AC922 systems. An attacker could potentially revert firmware to a vulnerable version, compromising the BMC's security controls and potentially affecting the host system's ability to operate.

MitigationUpdate BMC firmware to patched versions provided by IBM. Implement firmware integrity verification and restrict BMC access to trusted personnel only.

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
Power 9 Ac922 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= op910= op920= op930= op940

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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. Retrieve BMC firmware version
    Access the BMC via IPMI command: ipmitool -I lanplus -H <BMC_IP> -U <username> -P <password> mc info OR use the BMC web interface to navigate to System Information > Firmware Information. Record the firmware version string.
    Affected if The displayed firmware version is exactly op910, op920, op930, or op940
  2. Identify system model
    Confirm the system is an IBM Power 9 AC922 model. Use: ipmitool -I lanplus -H <BMC_IP> -U <username> -P <password> fru print | grep -i 'product name' OR check the BMC web interface System Information page.
    Affected if The system model is IBM Power 9 AC922 and the firmware version from Step 1 matches an affected version
  3. Verify BMC firmware integrity check status
    Check if the BMC has firmware integrity verification enabled. This is typically found in BMC security settings: BMC Web Interface > Settings > Security > Firmware Integrity Check. Or via Redfish: GET /redfish/v1/Managers/Self - look for 'FirmwareIntegrity' or 'Oem' properties.
    Affected if Firmware integrity verification is disabled or not available on the BMC, and firmware version matches an affected version
  4. Review BMC firmware change logs
    Inspect BMC audit or event logs for recent firmware version changes: ipmitool -I lanplus -H <BMC_IP> -U <username> -P <password> sel list OR via BMC Web Interface > Logs > Event Log. Look for ' firmware' or 'Firmware Update' entries.
    Affected if Firmware downgrade events are present in logs, or no logs indicate recent firmware updates to patched versions
  5. Check BMC network exposure
    Verify BMC is not directly accessible from untrusted networks. Scan BMC IP from external network: nmap -p 623 <BMC_IP> (623 is IPMI/RMCP port). Review network ACLs/firewall rules restricting BMC management port 623.
    Affected if BMC UDP port 623 is exposed to untrusted networks and firmware version matches an affected version

A system is affected if it is an IBM Power 9 AC922 with BMC firmware version op910, op920, op930, or op940 and the BMC is network-accessible without firmware integrity verification.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update BMC firmware to patched versions provided by IBM. Implement firmware integrity verification and restrict BMC access to trusted personnel only.

Fix this in Power 9 Ac922 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2022-22374 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