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Insydeh2oApplication · Insyde

CVE-2022-32473

HIGH · 7.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-02-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.2.05.27.27 / 5.3.05.36.27 or later.
See remediation →
72/100
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
An issue was discovered in Insyde InsydeH2O with kernel 5.0 through 5.5. DMA attacks on the HddPassword shared buffer used by SMM and non-SMM code could cause TOCTOU race-condition issues that could lead to corruption of SMRAM and escalation of privileges. This attack can be mitigated using IOMMU protection for the ACPI runtime memory used for the command buffer. This attack can be mitigated by copying the firmware block services data to SMRAM before checking it.

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

InsydeH2O kernel 5.0-5.5 contains a TOCTOU race condition in the HddPassword shared buffer used between SMM and non-SMM code. DMA attacks can corrupt the buffer during the time between checking and using the data, leading to SMRAM corruption and privilege escalation to SMM level.

MitigationEnable IOMMU protection for ACPI runtime memory used as command buffers, or implement the mitigation of copying firmware block services data to SMRAM before validation to eliminate the TOCTOU window.

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:>= 5.0, < 5.2.05.27.27>= 5.3, < 5.3.05.36.27>= 5.4, < 5.4.05.44.27>= 5.5, < 5.5.05.52.27

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/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 firmware vendor and version
    Run 'dmidecode -s bios-version' or check system information/BIOS setup to obtain the installed InsydeH2O firmware version
    Affected if Firmware is InsydeH2O and version falls within: >= 5.0 to < 5.2.05.27.27, >= 5.3 to < 5.3.05.36.27, >= 5.4 to < 5.4.05.44.27, or >= 5.5 to < 5.5.05.52.27
  2. Confirm the HddPassword component is present
    Inspect the UEFI/BIOS firmware image or check system for HDD password functionality in BIOS setup - this feature is typically found under Security settings for hard drive access control
    Affected if System implements HDD password protection feature using InsydeH2O firmware

System is affected if running InsydeH2O firmware version 5.0-5.2.05.27.26, 5.3-5.3.05.36.26, 5.4-5.4.05.44.26, or 5.5-5.5.05.52.26 with HDD password capability present.

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 5.2.05.27.27 / 5.3.05.36.27 / 5.4.05.44.27 or later
Fixed in 5.2.05.27.275.3.05.36.275.4.05.44.27
Interim mitigation

Enable IOMMU protection for ACPI runtime memory used as command buffers, or implement the mitigation of copying firmware block services data to SMRAM before validation to eliminate the TOCTOU window.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to InsydeH2O version 5.2.05.27.27 (for 5.0-5.2 branch), 5.3.05.36.27 (for 5.3 branch), 5.4.05.44.27 (for 5.4 branch), or 5.5.05.52.27 (for 5.5 branch) depending on current version

  1. 1. Identify the current InsydeH2O firmware version installed on the affected system
  2. 2. Determine which version branch the current firmware belongs to (5.0-5.2, 5.3, 5.4, or 5.5)
  3. 3. Obtain the appropriate BIOS/UEFI firmware update from the system manufacturer (OEM) that includes the fixed version
  4. 4. For version 5.0-5.2.x: upgrade to version 5.2.05.27.27 or later
  5. 5. For version 5.3.x: upgrade to version 5.3.05.36.27 or later
  6. 6. For version 5.4.x: upgrade to version 5.4.05.44.27 or later
  7. 7. For version 5.5.x: upgrade to version 5.5.05.52.27 or later
  8. 8. Apply the firmware update following the OEM's standard BIOS update procedure (typically via USB flash or within OS update utility)
Caveat Firmware updates carry inherent risks including potential bricking; ensure stable power during update and follow OEM instructions precisely

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

Fix this in Insydeh2o Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
44.0 hours of engineering $7,720
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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-2022-32473 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