CVE-2022-31636
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 · uneditedPotential time-of-check to time-of-use (TOCTOU) vulnerabilities have been identified in the BIOS for certain HP PC products, which might allow arbitrary code execution, escalation of privilege, denial of service, and information disclosure.
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 confidenceThis is a time-of-check to time-of-use (TOCTOU) vulnerability in the BIOS firmware of certain HP PC products. TOCTOU flaws create a race condition where the system checks a condition (such as resource permissions or state) but the condition can change between the check and the actual use, allowing attackers to exploit the window for arbitrary code execution, privilege escalation, denial of service, or information disclosure.
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<= 1.24<= 1.33<= 1.42<= 1.42<= 1.42<= 1.42<= 1.42<= 1.42CVSS 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
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the HP system modelCheck the product label on the device casing, or run 'msinfo32' (Windows) or 'dmidecode -s system-product-name' (Linux) to identify the exact model numberAffected if The model matches one of: Zcentral 4r Workstation, Z1 All In One G3 Workstation, Elitebook 725 G4, Elitebook 745 G4, Elitebook 755 G4, Probook 645 G3, Probook 655 G3, or Mt43 Mobile Thin Client
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Retrieve the current BIOS firmware versionFrom Windows, open 'msinfo32' and look for 'BIOS Version'. From Linux, run 'dmidecode -s bios-version'. Or boot into BIOS setup by pressing F10 and check the BIOS version informationAffected if Any version is returned - this establishes the baseline for comparison
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Compare installed version against affected rangesMatch your system model to its version threshold: Zcentral 4r <= 1.24, Z1 All In One G3 <= 1.33, Elitebook 725/745/755 G4 <= 1.42, Probook 645/655 G3 <= 1.42, Mt43 <= 1.42Affected if The installed BIOS version is equal to or lower than the threshold for your specific model
A user is affected if they own one of the listed HP models and their current BIOS firmware version is at or below the specified version threshold for that product.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scopedApply the HP BIOS/firmware update provided by HP for affected systems. Prioritize systems with direct physical access or those in high-risk environments, as BIOS updates typically require local or administrative access.
HP has released BIOS firmware updates that supersede the vulnerable versions (1.24, 1.33, 1.42). Specific fixed version numbers vary by product model. Check HP support pages for each affected product (Zcentral 4r, Z1 All In One G3, Elitebook 725/745/755 G4, Probook 645/655 G3, Mt43) to obtain the ex
- 1. Identify the exact model number and current BIOS firmware version of the affected HP system
- 2. Navigate to the official HP Support website (support.hp.com) and use the HP PC Diagnostics tool or product search to find the specific BIOS update
- 3. Download the latest BIOS firmware version released by HP for your specific model
- 4. Review the BIOS update release notes to confirm it addresses CVE-2022-31636
- 5. Connect the system to AC power (do not rely on battery) to prevent interruption during the flash process
- 6. Run the HP BIOS update utility as an administrator
- 7. Allow the BIOS flash to complete fully - do not interrupt power or restart the system manually
- 8. After the update completes and the system restarts, verify the new BIOS version matches the expected fixed version
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-31636 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-31636 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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