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Insydeh2oApplication · Insyde

CVE-2022-32954

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 5.1 through 5.5. DMA attacks on the SdMmcDevice 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 by using IOMMU protection for the ACPI runtime memory used for the command buffer. This attack can be mitigated by copying the link data to SMRAM before checking it and verifying that all pointers are within the buffer.

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

InsydeH2O firmware versions 5.1-5.5 contain a TOCTOU race condition in the SdMmcDevice buffer handling. DMA attacks can corrupt SMRAM by exploiting the time window between checking buffer pointers and using them, potentially leading to privilege escalation. The vulnerability exists because the same buffer is shared between SMM and non-SMM code without proper synchronization.

MitigationEnable IOMMU protection for ACPI runtime memory used by the command buffer, or implement code that copies link data to SMRAM before validation and verifies all pointers remain within buffer bounds.

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, < 5.2.05.27.27>= 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
    Check system BIOS/UEFI information or use tools like dmidecode, UEFI shell, or motherboard documentation to confirm the firmware is InsydeH2O
    Affected if Firmware is not InsydeH2O - not affected by this CVE
  2. Determine InsydeH2O firmware version
    Access UEFI/BIOS setup or use firmware dumping tools (like ChipSec, UEFI Tools) to read the firmware version string
    Affected if Version is outside the affected ranges: >= 5.1 to < 5.2.05.27.27, >= 5.3 to < 5.3.05.36.27, >= 5.4 to < 5.4.05.44.27, >= 5.5 to < 5.5.05.52.27 - not affected; versions 5.2.05.27.27+, 5.3.05.36.27+, 5.4.05.44.27+, 5.5.05.52.27+ are patched
  3. Verify SD/MMC device is present
    Check system hardware configuration or UEFI device enumeration for an SD card or MMC controller interface (SdMmcDevice)
    Affected if No SD or MMC storage device controller is present or enabled - vulnerability cannot be triggered
  4. Check IOMMU protection status
    Access UEFI/BIOS settings or use OS tools (like dmar, dmidecode on Linux) to verify if IOMMU/AMD-Vi/Intel VT-d is enabled for ACPI runtime memory protection
    Affected if IOMMU is disabled - the mitigation is not present and the system remains vulnerable if other conditions are met

System is affected if it uses vulnerable InsydeH2O firmware (versions 5.1-5.5 as specified), has an active SD/MMC controller, and lacks IOMMU protection for the command buffer.

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 by the command buffer, or implement code that copies link data to SMRAM before validation and verifies all pointers remain within buffer bounds.

Recommended fix High confidence

Minimum fixed versions: 5.2.05.27.27, 5.3.05.36.27, 5.4.05.44.27, or 5.5.05.52.27 (depending on branch); preferably latest available from OEM

  1. 1. Identify the current InsydeH2O firmware version installed on the system by checking the UEFI/BIOS setup or system information.
  2. 2. Determine which version branch (5.1.x, 5.2.x, 5.3.x, 5.4.x, or 5.5.x) is currently in use.
  3. 3. For systems on version 5.1.x: upgrade to version 5.2.05.27.27 or later.
  4. 4. For systems on version 5.3.x: upgrade to version 5.3.05.36.27 or later.
  5. 5. For systems on version 5.4.x: upgrade to version 5.4.05.44.27 or later.
  6. 6. For systems on version 5.5.x: upgrade to version 5.5.05.52.27 or later.
  7. 7. Obtain the firmware update from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or Insyde directly, applying it following the vendor's specific update procedure.
  8. 8. After firmware update, verify the new version is correctly installed.
Caveat Firmware upgrades carry risk of system unbootability; test in controlled environment first; ensure uninterrupted power during flash process

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

Fix this in Insydeh2o Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
34.0 hours of engineering $6,000
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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-2022-32954 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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