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Insydeh2oApplication · Insyde

CVE-2022-24031

HIGH · 8.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-02-03
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.16.42 / 5.26.42 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 NvmExpressDxe in Insyde InsydeH2O with kernel 5.1 through 5.5. An SMM memory corruption vulnerability allows an attacker to write fixed or predictable data to SMRAM. 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 · moderate confidence

NvmExpressDxe driver in InsydeH2O kernel 5.1-5.5 contains a memory corruption vulnerability that allows writing fixed or predictable data to SMRAM (System Management RAM), enabling an attacker to escalate privileges to System Management Mode.

MitigationApply vendor-provided UEFI firmware updates from Insyde; if unavailable, consider disabling SMM or implementing secure boot protections to reduce attack surface.

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, < 5.16.42>= 5.2, < 5.26.42>= 5.3, < 5.35.42>= 5.4, < 5.43.42>= 5.5, < 5.51.42

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 InsydeH2O firmware version
    Run `dmidecode -t 0` and look for the BIOS Version or Firmware Revision field. On some systems, check `/sys/class/dmi/id/bios_version` or `/sys/class/dmi/id/bios_vendor`. The vendor string should contain 'Insyde' or 'InsydeH2O'.
    Affected if The displayed version falls within any of these ranges: 5.1 to 5.16.41, 5.2 to 5.26.41, 5.3 to 5.35.41, 5.4 to 5.43.41, or 5.5 to 5.51.41.
  2. Confirm vendor is Insyde
    Examine the BIOS vendor name from the same dmidecode output or from `/sys/class/dmi/id/bios_vendor`. Ensure the firmware is from Insyde rather than another UEFI vendor.
    Affected if The vendor is listed as Insyde or InsydeH2O.
  3. Check if NvmExpressDxe driver is present
    On systems with UEFI shell available, run `dh -d` to list loaded drivers and look for NvmExpressDxe. Alternatively, check system firmware dumps or UEFI variable logs for references to this driver.
    Affected if The NvmExpressDxe driver is loaded in the UEFI environment.
  4. Determine if NVMe storage is present
    Check for NVMe controllers in the system: run `lspci | grep -i nvme` on Linux or check Device Manager on Windows. Also check `ls /dev/nvme*` on Linux.
    Affected if NVMe hardware is present and the NvmExpressDxe driver would be invoked to initialize it.
  5. Assess SMRAM accessibility
    Check if SMM (System Management Mode) is accessible or if there are any SMRAM protection mechanisms. On Linux, examine output from `ls /dev/mem` permissions or look for SMM-related kernel parameters. A system with unrestricted SMRAM is more exposed.
    Affected if SMRAM is accessible without additional protections like SMM lock or TPM-based sealing.

The system is affected if it runs InsydeH2O firmware with a version between 5.1 and the respective patch thresholds (5.16.42, 5.26.42, 5.35.42, 5.43.42, or 5.51.42), and the NvmExpressDxe driver is loaded to initialize NVMe storage.

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 5.16.42 / 5.26.42 / 5.35.42 or later
Fixed in 5.16.425.26.425.35.42
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-provided UEFI firmware updates from Insyde; if unavailable, consider disabling SMM or implementing secure boot protections to reduce attack surface.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to InsydeH2O kernel version 5.16.42 or higher (5.1.x branch), 5.26.42 or higher (5.2.x branch), 5.35.42 or higher (5.3.x branch), or 5.43.42 or higher (5.4.x branch)

  1. 1. Identify the current InsydeH2O kernel version installed on the affected system by checking the UEFI/BIOS firmware version information
  2. 2. Determine which version branch (5.1.x, 5.2.x, 5.3.x, or 5.4.x) the current firmware is based on
  3. 3. Obtain the latest UEFI firmware update from the system vendor (OEM) that includes the InsydeH2O fix
  4. 4. Apply the firmware update following the vendor's standard BIOS/UEFI update process (typically via flashing the firmware from within the OS or via recovery mechanism)
Caveat Firmware updates carry inherent risks and should be tested in a controlled environment; ensure power continuity during the update process to prevent bricked devices

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

Fix this in Insydeh2o Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,980
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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-2022-24031 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data