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Slingshot FirmwareOperating system · Hpe

CVE-2022-28620

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-06-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.7.2 or later.
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
A remote authentication bypass vulnerability was discovered in HPE Cray Legacy Shasta System Solutions; HPE Slingshot; and HPE Cray EX supercomputers versions: Prior to node controller firmware associated with HPE Cray EX liquid cooled blades, and all versions of chassis controller firmware associated with HPE Cray EX liquid cooled cabinets prior to 1.6.27/1.5.33/1.4.27; All Slingshot versions prior to 1.7.2; All versions of node controller firmware associated with HPE Cray EX liquid cooled blades, and all versions of chassis controller firmware associated with HPE Cray EX liquid cooled cabinets prior to 1.6.27/1.5.33/1.4.27. HPE has provided a software update to resolve this vulnerability in HPE Cray Legacy Shasta System Solutions, HPE Slingshot, and HPE Cray EX Supercomputers.

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

A remote authentication bypass vulnerability in HPE Cray EX and Slingshot supercomputer systems allows unauthenticated remote attackers to bypass authentication controls via the node controller and chassis controller firmware. The vulnerability affects firmware versions prior to 1.6.27/1.5.33/1.4.27 for liquid cooled components and prior to 1.7.2 for Slingshot.

MitigationApply the HPE-provided software/firmware updates to node controller and chassis controller firmware across all affected HPE Cray EX liquid cooled blades, cabinets, and Slingshot switches to remediate the authentication bypass.

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
Slingshot FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.7.2
Cray Ex Supercomputers FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 1.4.27= 1.5.33= 1.6.27
Cray Sh Supercomputer Air Cooled Base System Code FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 1.4.27= 1.5.33= 1.6.27
Cray Sh Supercomputer Liquid Cooled Base System Code FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 1.4.27= 1.5.33= 1.6.27
Cray Sh Supercomputer Liquid Cooled Tds Base System Code FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 1.4.27= 1.5.33= 1.6.27

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/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 HPE Cray EX or Slingshot system type
    Determine if your environment includes HPE Cray EX supercomputers or HPE Slingshot switch firmware. Consult system inventory or hardware management documentation.
    Affected if Your environment does not include any HPE Cray EX or Slingshot hardware.
  2. Locate node controller firmware version
    Access the node controller firmware through the system management interface (BMC/IPMI or HPE Cray management tools). Query the firmware version using 'cray-firmware' commands or via the hardware management console.
    Affected if The node controller firmware version is < 1.4.27, < 1.5.33, or < 1.6.27 for liquid cooled systems, or < 1.7.2 for Slingshot.
  3. Locate chassis controller firmware version
    Access the chassis controller firmware through the system management interface. Query the firmware version using HPE Cray firmware management tools or through the Redfish API endpoint for chassis controllers.
    Affected if The chassis controller firmware version is < 1.4.27, < 1.5.33, or < 1.6.27 for liquid cooled systems, or < 1.7.2 for Slingshot.
  4. Verify liquid cooled vs air cooled configuration
    Check the specific cooling configuration of your HPE Cray EX or HPE Cray Sh system through hardware inventory or management interfaces.
    Affected if The system uses liquid cooled components with firmware versions prior to 1.6.27/1.5.33/1.4.27.

You are affected if your environment contains HPE Cray EX or Slingshot hardware with node controller or chassis controller firmware versions below 1.4.27, 1.5.33, or 1.6.27 (for liquid cooled) or below 1.7.2 (for Slingshot).

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 1.7.2 or later
Fixed in 1.7.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the HPE-provided software/firmware updates to node controller and chassis controller firmware across all affected HPE Cray EX liquid cooled blades, cabinets, and Slingshot switches to remediate the authentication bypass.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Slingshot: 1.7.2 or later | Cray EX/Cray Sh: 1.6.27 (or 1.5.33/1.4.27 depending on baseline version)

  1. Identify the specific HPE Cray system model (Slingshot switch, Cray EX compute node, or chassis controller) requiring remediation
  2. Access the HPE support portal at support.hpe.com and locate the appropriate firmware update for your system
  3. For Slingshot systems: Download and apply firmware version 1.7.2 or later
  4. For Cray EX liquid cooled blades: Update node controller firmware to version 1.6.27 or later (or 1.5.33/1.4.27 depending on baseline)
  5. For Cray EX liquid cooled cabinets: Update chassis controller firmware to version 1.6.27 or later (or 1.5.33/1.4.27 depending on baseline)
  6. Verify the firmware update was successfully applied by checking the firmware version post-update
  7. Confirm that remote authentication functionality is working correctly after the update
Caveat Firmware updates on HPC systems may require planned downtime and should be tested in a staging environment before production deployment

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

Fix this in Slingshot Firmware 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-2022-28620 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